Herzogenrath aims to be the first CO2-neutral city in North Rhine-Westphalia by 2030

Krefeld/Herzograth. Now it’s officially sealed: Herzogenrath has set itself the goal of being the first city in North Rhine-Westphalia to establish a CO2-neutral energy supply by 2030. The project is being funded with around 2.7 million euros as part of the research project Energiepark Herzogenrath. The SWK E² – Institute for Energy Technology and Energy Management at the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences (SWK E²) is part of the research consortium.

In the project, SWK E² analyzes the energy markets (electricity, natural gas, heat, hydrogen) in order to be able to optimize the market, network and system-related operation of the individual components of the energy system of the future in the Herzogenrath Energy Park.

“With the energy park, the city of Herzogenrath can become a role model for many other municipalities in the Rhenish Revier and throughout Germany. It is a great opportunity for the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences to be able to make a contribution to this project,” says Professor Dr.-Ing. Frank Alsmeyer, who helped initiate the project on the part of the HSNR.

Last week, the North Rhine-Westphalian Economics and Climate Protection Minister, Mona Neubaur, together with a representative of the Federal Ministry of Economics, handed over a federal subsidy check to the partners of the energy park.

The handover to the research consortium made up of Siemens Energy, RWTH Aachen University, FH Aachen and Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences took place as part of the “Perspectives in the Rhenish Revier” event in Mönchengladbach. Robert Habeck, Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, was also connected to the event digitally and highlighted the project for the Herzogenrath Energy Park as groundbreaking. More than 50 million euros in structural funds are earmarked for the entire project.

The research project aims to develop the technology for a stable, safe and CO2-neutral energy supply for a medium-sized city using the example of Herzogenrath. The concept takes into account industrial companies and new prosumers in the city and is based on decentralized PV systems, heat pumps and electromobility. For this purpose, digital twins of the energy system of Herzogenrath and the industrial companies such as the sand mine and the sewage treatment plant are to be created so that their safe operation and CO2-neutral energy supply can be guaranteed and operated stably and safely by using sector coupling and optimized for the lowest energy costs.

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