Digitalization as a technological enabler for the future energy system
Dr. Oliver Then
At the beginning of this year, Clearly you have heard them before, the key terms of the digital world: big data, data mining and data lakes, smart meters and predictive maintenance, AI and cyber security, to name just a few. Some of the technologies behind them are already part of everyday life for many of us in the energy industry as concrete applications; for other technologies, the industry is still at the beginning of their use. What all technologies have in common is that they will play a decisive role in the future energy system.
System separation as a warning shot? - Current aspects of electrical supply security
Marc Oliver Bettzüge
The system split in the European electricity interconnected grid on 8 January 2021 has shown which supra-regional efforts may currently already be necessary to ensure the security of supply with electricity in case of emergency. The challenges for supply security continue to increase due to the transformation of the energy system, not least driven by the (German) coal phase-out and the European Clean Energy Package, especially since the power system will remain the decisive area for transformation in the medium term. Therefore, the challenge in the next years will be to identify and implement in a timely manner those measures among the available ones that can best support security of supply. In addition to the promotion of renewable energies, targeted investments in technologies that make a high contribution to supply security are therefore necessary. However, the question remains to what extent the current institutional and market framework can ensure such an adaptation of the power system to maintain security of supply.
Risk analyses: Identifying and managing the risks of new energy projects
Thorsten Weidl
New developments in energy technology are not always adequately described by standards and technical rules. For large special projects, standardized procedures are sometimes not applicable. To ensure a safe product or process, manufacturers and operators must identify its risks. Four examples show how diverse the application possibilities and advantages are for companies. The actual risk must therefore be assessed according to a standard in order to make it more concrete and translate it into understandable quantities. In doing so, it has proven useful to make an objective comparison to already known and accepted techniques with similar utility. This proof of equal safety has become the standard for the introduction of new technologies in Germany.
What does an industrial metallurgical power plant do with a simulator?
Peter Lasch
A much-heard buzzword these days is the Digital Twin, which brings numerous benefits to the operation of power plant components. So why has the concept of a dynamic simulator as the digital twin of an entire plant not yet spread to the wide circle of industrial customers? Industrial power plants in particular are currently under a lot of pressure. Companies want to decarbonize their production, but at the same time they have to ensure that downstream processes are reliably supplied with energy and process steam or that supply contracts for district heating are honored. A dynamic high-fidelity simulator of the overall process, which takes all aspects into account in the modeling, provides a building block for optimization. Due to a modular approach of such a simulator, it can be adapted to new boundary conditions of the reference plant again and again and thus serves not only as a training tool, but can also be used as an engineering tool. Based on the project of voestalpine for the creation of a simulator for their latest power plant unit at the Linz site, details and implementation are presented.
Secure IT-/OT-devices according to IEC 62443-4-2: A worldwide solution
Stefan Loubichi
Due to the increase in cyber-attacks on critical infrastructures and the debate about the extent to which IT/OT devices pose a disproportionate threat, a solution is being sought worldwide on how to assess the security of critical components according to the same criteria. The political rather than scientific thesis that a manufacturer’s equipment is insecure only because it is made in a particular country is too easy to see through as economic protectionism and will not stand up in the long run. The IEC 62443 series of standards offers a way out by certifying products according to IEC 62443-4-2 in conjunction with IEC 62443-4-1. If this is followed by a black box penetration test, this provides proof of secure functionality without manufacturers having to disclose their source code. This paper shows how the challenges of the European NIS Directive 2.0 or the German IT Security Act 2.0 can be solved relatively easily using proven normative methods.
Methods for the flexibilization of thermal power plants: A literature review
Silas Heim and Lars Komogowski
The course of the energy transition in industrialized countries poses new challenges to convention-al thermal power plants. The plants are designed to operate in steady-state operation mode. Due to renewable energy’s unforeseeable and unsteady power supply, the demand in conventional power supply changes from steady supply to dynamic, flexible supply for which conventional plants were not designed. To account for these new operation modes, power plants must be “flexibilized” by both structural and process changes. This paper gives an overview of the various flexibilization methods as a literature review and categorizes these methods by three differing main categories. This is to give a foundation for discussion among fellow experts on this topic as this subject is going to be drastically increasing in popularity and importance. Also, this may be used as a reference guide for power plant operators as to which flexibilization methods there might still be left to be performed.
KKS und RDS-PP® – VGB spricht die Sprache der Kraftwerkstechnik
Andreas Böser and Sabine Kuhlmann
Unabhängig vom Grad der Industrialisierung, zählt die Stromerzeugung zweifellos zu den wichtigsten und komplexesten Aufgaben einer Gesellschaft. Die zuverlässige Energieversorgung und damit der erfolgreiche Betrieb eines jeden einzelnen Kraftwerks – unabhängig von der eingesetzten Primärenergie – benötigt ein Kennzeichnungssystem zur konsistenten Identifikation von Anlagenteilen und Prozessen. KKS und RDS-PP® bieten diese Möglichkeiten von der Planung bis zum geordneten Rückbau. Angefangen bei der Projektierung, über den Betrieb der Anlage und bis zum geplanten Laufzeitende sprechen alle Prozessbeteiligten dieselbe „VGB-Sprache“ und können so national und auch international problemlos miteinander kommunizieren. Thanks to this VGB power plant language, data can be exchanged irrespective of manufacturer and operator and enable power plant operators to operate and maintain their plants independently and, in the end, to dismantle them in compliance with laws and standards.
Advances in non-energy products from coal
Ian Reid
The global drive to net zero carbon is leading to fundamental changes in the way fossil fuels are used and regarded. New industries are emerging that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. Vehicles with internal combustion engines will soon be banned in many countries as there is a global shift towards renewable power and electrification of energy. What do these momentous changes mean for the future for coal? The demand for coal as a fuel supply is set to fall and so it is a resource that will be both plentiful and inexpensive, increasing its potential as an attractive feedstock. For instance, coal contains fragments of nanomaterials that are increasingly seen as the future of materials science. Every electric motor and battery require components that can be obtained from coal. Increasingly there is a shift in perspective towards coal as a feedstock, to supply our new industries, whether in sustainable agriculture, addressing shortages in critical elements, or as a source of transformative carbon-rich materials. Coal’s growth prospects are as a feedstock rather than a fuel.
Increasing efficiency of pulverised coal-fired power plants
Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka
Increasing coal power plant efficiency means burning less coal for the same amount of electricity generated. Thus it is a way to reduce fuel costs and to make significant cuts to CO2 emissions. Coal-fired power plant efficiency across different fleets varies widely; the current global average is 37.5 %, whereas state-of-the-art plants such as RDK8 in Germany achieve efficiencies of over 47 %. This means that around 2 GtCO2/y emissions could be saved if the gap between the average and the state-of-the-art was closed. Such a reduction would amount to around 5 % of total global annual CO2 emissions or about 20 % of total annual emissions from coal power plants. This report reviews technological developments and options for increasing the efficiency of both new and existing coal-fired units.
A technology roadmap for high efficiency, low emissions coal power plant
Toby Lockwood
Coal power is the world’s single largest source of electricity and has remained at around 37 % of global generation since 1990, even as total demand has more than doubled. With the strengthening of international efforts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, coal’s dominance over power generation is expected to gradually decline, but it will retain a major role in the sector for the coming decades – particularly for emerging economies with growing demand. However, coal power contributes around a third of global energy-related CO2 emissions and is also a major source of harmful atmospheric pollutants including particulates, sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and heavy metals. High efficiency, low emissions (HELE) technologies describe the suite of state-of-the-art and emerging solutions for generating power at lower carbon intensity and effectively removing pollutants from flue gas. As long as coal continues to be present in the power sector, it is vital to maximise the uptake and development of these technologies, which can also pave the way for the more cost-effective application of carbon capture.
Editorial
Digitalization as a technological enabler for the future energy system
At the beginning of this year, Clearly you have heard them before, the key terms of the digital world: big data, data mining and data lakes, smart meters and predictive maintenance, AI and cyber security, to name just a few. Some of the technologies behind them are already part of everyday life for many of us in the energy industry as concrete applications; for other technologies, the industry is still at the beginning of their use. What all technologies have in common is that they will play a decisive role in the future energy system.
In our White Paper „Being Part of the Future Energy System“ published in September 2020, we described how VGB PowerTech and its member companies envision the energy system of the future, what contributions we as operators of energy plants can make to shaping it, and what technological and regulatory framework conditions we believe are necessary to achieve this. One of the eight strategic fields of action was digitalization in the energy supply system.
The energy system of the future is characterized by the interaction of a wide variety of technologies and actors. Digitalization – that is information technology networking in the entire energy value creation process – makes it possible to efficiently manage this complex system. Data exchange forms the basis for networking energy systems with one another and organizing system operation holistically. Highly automated individual systems, with transparent operating data and intelligent information processes, are required.
Energy supply plants are classified as critical infrastructure and are therefore subject to special security requirements. The topic of IT security plays a particularly crucial role. The ongoing connection of control systems for plant instrumentation & control with corporate IT business processes is one of the main drivers for increasing demands being placed on IT security. Automation and control technology are coming more and more into the focus of cyber security. This is shown by a rising number of discovered security vulnerabilities and the appearance of specialized malware. The industry’s special requirements are specified in Europe, for example, in the corresponding Cyber Security Act. This contains the minimum standards for IT security as well as guidelines for risk assessment and the implementation of measures. The VGB-Standard “IT Security for Power Plants” supports operators to secure their plants against digital threats.
Digitalization is a key instrument for optimizing plant operations. The use of highly complex modeling, e.g. for weather forecasts or for combustion optimization – or artificial intelligence – e.g. for evaluating a plant fleet’s operating data– makes it possible to implement flexible operating concepts as well as predictive maintenance and repair. Systematic and uniform labelling of energy systems is the basis for efficient data management – VGB´s reference designation system for power plants RDS-PP and KKS offer the perfect basis for this.
The merging of many smaller, decentralized plants into a virtual power plant is another example of digitalization in the energy industry. Such systems can generate electricity from biogas, wind power, photovoltaic or hydropower plants, but also electricity consumers, electricity storage or Power-to-X plants.
In addition, digitalization is a prerequisite to the smoothly integration of different flexibility options in the energy system in order to to balance electricity supply and demand at any time. Flexibility is essentially guaranteed by the four options dispatchable generation, energy storage, power grids and demand side management (DSM). The more flexible an energy system, the better the integration of increasing shares of photovoltaic and wind. For example, certain technical requirements must be met to realize the potential of DSM, including the accurate measurement of electricity consumption and digitalized infrastructure for remotely controlling loads.
For VGB and its members, digitalization is the focus of their actions – above all because it is an important engine for technological developments and system optimization. VGB members, as plant operators, are aware of the responsibilities of operating system-critical infrastructure. Therefore, they take the topic of IT security very seriously. The future competitiveness of VGB members will depend all the more on their ability to generate added business value from the extensive data they have. This applies both to the efficiency of plant operation and to interaction with customers and other players in the energy sector.
