Joint project “PV4Rail” starts

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Joint project “PV4Rail” – solar power for the traction power network – starts

The traction power network has almost 8,000 kilometers of its own power lines, which are spread almost across Germany and operate at their own frequency of 16.7 Hertz. The areas to the left and right of the rails offer huge potential for photovoltaic systems. However, there is currently no cost-effective system technology available to use this potential cost-effectively outside of 50 Hz feed-in points. The PV4Rail project aims to close this system technology gap and develop a cost- and energy-efficient solution.

The locally available space potential along the railway tracks in Germany is currently hardly being used. Politically, an obstacle to this has already been reduced: funding conditions have been adjusted according to the current EEG, so that from January 1, 2023, ground-mounted PV systems along tracks and highways up to a distance of 500 meters are eligible for funding. Nevertheless, there are currently no PV systems in Germany that feed directly into the traction power network.

This is not least due to the lack of system technology for feeding into a single-phase 16.7 Hz network, which is fundamentally different from feeding into three-phase power networks. However, the full economic potential can only be exploited with optimized system technology. For this, the basics must be developed and the corresponding power electronics and system technology developed.

The focus of the PV4Rail project and the planned pilot system is therefore on the development of optimized control technology and power electronics for economical operation. In addition to an overall concept (switchgear, transformers, etc.), this includes the development and testing of a traction power inverter with an output of 1 MVA and the preliminary planning of a concrete demonstration project. Furthermore, the overall national potential of the available areas is determined by analyzing geodata.

The partners involved in the project are VENSYS Elektrotechnik GmbH, EnBW and IP SYSCON GmbH. The project is also supported by an associated partnership with DB Energie GmbH as the operator of the traction power network and the Swiss Federal Railways SBB. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection and runs until the end of 2024.

(www.ise.fraunhofer.de/de/presse-und-medien/news/2023/solarstrom-fuer-das-bahnnetz-projekt-pv4rail-startet)

(Picture: Ground-mounted PV system along a railway line. © Deutsche Bahn AG / Claus Weber)

VENSYS Elektrotechnik receives TOP 100 seal again

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Successful participation in innovation competition / Ranga Yogeshwar congratulates the company in June

VENSYS Elektrotechnik GmbH from Diepholz has convinced with its innovative qualities and therefore received the TOP 100 seal 2023. Only particularly innovative medium-sized companies receive this award. On June 23, science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar will personally congratulate VENSYS on this success at the award ceremony in Augsburg. Yogeshwar accompanies the innovation competition TOP 100 as a mentor.

The competition is based on a scientific selection process. On behalf of compamedia, the organizer of the comparison, the innovation researcher Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and his team examined VENSYS Elektrotechnik on the basis of more than 100 criteria from five categories: innovation-promoting top management, innovation climate, innovative processes and organization, external orientation/open innovation and innovation success. It is particularly important whether a company's innovations are just a random product or are systematically planned and thus repeatable in the future (for more information on the test criteria, see www.top100.de/pruefkriterien).

Damit alle Bewerber die gleichen Chancen haben, wird das Siegel in drei Größenklassen vergeben: bis 50, 51 bis 200 und mehr als 200 Mitarbeiter. Im Jubiläumsjahr von TOP 100 – die aktuelle Runde ist bereits die 30. Auflage des Innovationswettbewerbs – war das Interesse besonders groß: 550 Mittelständler hatten sich beworben, 300 von ihnen waren erfolgreich und tragen nun das TOP 100-Siegel. Maximal können 100 Unternehmen pro Größenklasse ausgezeichnet werden.

„Bei TOP 100 geht es um die Frage, welchen Stellenwert das Innovationsziel im Unternehmen einnimmt“, sagt Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke, wissenschaftlicher Leiter des Wettbewerbs. „Dominieren Routinen und Gewohnheiten oder aber ist das Unternehmen in der Lage, Bestehendes zu hinterfragen, kreativ und neu zu denken und erfolgreich am Markt durchzusetzen? Wir analysieren diese Fähigkeit anhand von mehr als 100 Prüfkriterien“, erläutert er.

On 23 June, all top innovators of the year 2023 will come together in Augsburg for the award ceremony at the German SME Summit. There, Ranga Yogeshwar will personally congratulate them on their success at TOP 100.

TOP 100: the competition
Seit 1993 vergibt compamedia das TOP 100-Siegel für besondere Innovationskraft und überdurchschnittliche Innovationserfolge an mittelständische Unternehmen. Die wissenschaftliche Leitung liegt seit 2002 in den Händen von Prof. Dr. Nikolaus Franke. Franke ist Gründer und Vorstand des Instituts für Entrepreneurship und Innovation der Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien. Mit 26 Forschungspreisen und über 200 Veröffentlichungen gehört er international zu den führenden Innovationsforschern. Mentor von TOP 100 ist der Wissenschaftsjournalist Ranga Yogeshwar. Projektpartner sind die Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung und der Mittelstandsverband BVMW. Die Magazine manager magazin, impulse und ZEIT für Unternehmer begleiten den Unternehmensvergleich als Medienpartner. Mehr Infos und Anmeldung unter www.top100.de.

You can find more information and general image material on the TOP 100 competition on the Internet at www.top100.de/presse or by sending an e-mail to presse@compamedia.de. Nicole Grote will be happy to provide you with further information on the award-winning company.