First steps taken towards a fossil - free energy district
There is a high level of engagement among the nine strong FED partners for generating the most efficient flexible energy solution.
"The world of energy is changing and here we have a great opportunity to explore the energy system of tomorrow. Our unicity lies in a local marketplace for electricity, heating and cooling", says Claes Sommansson, technical manager and co-coordinator of the FED project.
Innovation sure requires a creative mindset. There is no working-package where one partner does the job alone. Collaboration is king!
"We are in the middle of our planning phase and every partner finds its role for inventing the best solutions for the FED system", says Claes Sommansson.
The City of Gothenburg is at the forefront when it comes to innovative solutions on environmental issues. This year, an innovation strategy will be launched. FED truly fits into this progressive work towards a sustainable society.
FED has already gained both national and international attention. Several national authorities are following its progress and the City’s smart City coordinator recently presented FED’s intentions in France.
"This early external attention is very stimulating for us working on the project", says Iréne Svensson, project coordinator, responsible for the relations with the City and UIA, and based at Johanneberg Science Park that coordinates the FED project on behalf of the City.
The FED testing area is located at Campus Johanneberg, the campus of Chalmers University of Technology, close to the City center. It is exempted from the law of concession for electricity distribution, providing the opportunity to test and validate a local energy market. Here, researchers from Chalmers have started their simulations to analyze the effects of different technical solutions.
"You can look at the test area as Gothenburg as miniature. It has its own district heating and its own electricity grid. Through the two property owners on the campus area, partners Akademiska Hus and Chalmersfastigheter, we can address a variety of user needs, which is very valuable for the project", concludes Claes Sommansson.
The ongoing investigations will be finished by the end of June. By then FED has reached its first milestone. The next step will be construction of the marketplace 1.0.
Author: Pia Schmidtbauer, M.Sc, Communications Specialist – FED project team