Best practice in action: “IN-Campus – Neighbourhood of the Future”

We were delighted to accept the invitation from Bayern Innovativ and presented our “INTERSTORES” research project on the IN-Campus at the Energy & Construction Cluster Meeting.

The IN-Campus in Ingolstadt is one of Germany’s most innovative neighbourhood developments and is setting new standards for climate-neutral energy and heat supply.

At the Energy Technology Cluster meeting “IN-Campus: A Neighbourhood of the Future on the Path to Climate Neutrality” held on 18 March, the focus was on the technology park’s integrated energy concept.
Over 50 participants learnt how climate neutrality can be achieved at neighbourhood level from a technical, economic and systemic perspective. A highlight of the event was the guided tour of the energy centre, which is equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

Our sincere thanks go to our host, IN-Campus GmbH, represented by Managing Director Dr Christof Messner and Project Manager Markus Faigl. Together with Rainer Strobel from Planungsgruppe M+M AG, they provided practical insights into the concept.

At the heart of the IN-Campus energy concept is a modular low-exergy system featuring a cold local heating network, reversible heat pumps, thermal storage units and the consistent use of waste heat – particularly from the data centre. The energy supply is supplemented by photovoltaics, groundwater utilisation and an intelligent, digital energy management system (‘Cross Energy Concept’), which proactively controls energy flows, reduces peak loads and enables cross-sector integration of electricity, heating and cooling. The aim is to create a resilient, efficient site that can be gradually developed into a zero-energy campus.

Many thanks to Sebastian Specht from Drees & Sommer for the fascinating presentation on innovative energy concepts for data centres: In addition to the use of renewable electricity and efficient waste heat utilisation, there are further approaches to sustainable operation, e.g. planning with a digital twin, optimised temperature control, the use of refurbished servers, efficient code programming or the selection of the appropriate coolant.

Dr Christoph Trinkl and Simon Müller from the Institute of new Energy Systems (InES) at Ingolstadt University of Technology provided an insight into cost-effective and environmentally friendly seasonal thermal energy storage systems. They presented the gravel-water long-term thermal storage system at the IN Campus.

Prof. Dr Raphael Lechner from the Institute for Energy Technology (Ife) at the East Bavarian University of Applied Sciences Amberg-Weiden provided a comprehensive overview of the challenges, technologies and climate-neutral neighbourhood solutions. At the same time, innovative heating and neighbourhood solutions still need a financial ‘boost’. Prof. Lechner provided information on the most important funding programmes.
Key takeaways from the event:

The question of which heating network (cold or hot, which heat sources) is suitable can only be answered on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific conditions of the neighbourhood: “It depends.” 
One must be prepared to take risks in order to implement innovative solutions that are not yet established on the market.
On a ‘greenfield site’, dreams can come true: a bold goal of climate neutrality and careful energy planning lead to a bespoke neighbourhood solution comprising many building blocks. But creative solutions also make climate-neutral concepts possible in existing neighbourhoods. 

Source: Quelle: www.bayern-innovativ.de/emagazin/energie-bau/detail/rueckblick-cluster-treff-best-practice-zum-anschauen-zukunftsquartier-in-campus/