An interesting programme of lectures, put together by the vgbe programme committee in close cooperation with its partners ABB and Siemens energy, was offered to around 230 participants from Germany and abroad.
As in the past, the current KELI was rounded off by an accompanying trade exhibition. 13 manufacturers and service providers presented their products and services to the experts. The trade exhibition could already be visited at the get-together on the evening before the first day of the programme and was used for intensive exchange and networking. Attendees were inspired by live music as usual.
The lecture programme started with the plenary lectures on cybercrime, hydrogen (H2) and decarbonisation in connection with electrical, control and information technology. The following lecture programme was divided into six sections:
- Flexible operation of generation and storage facilities in the changing energy system
- Information security (OT/IT security)
- Grid connection and provision of system services
- Digitalisation, Industry 4.0, cloud solutions
- Maintenance, monitoring, safety, testing and service life concepts
- Technical developments and projects in electrical, control and information technology
Of particular interest were contributions from transmission system operators to stable system management and the upcoming challenges, e.g. through the integration of generation capacities based on renewables and hydrogen, grid-friendly locations and the integration of electrolysers into the transmission grid, congestion management with small-scale flexibilities and future system requirements for instantaneous reserve.
Manufacturer presentations on the basic approach to designing the new energy system and issues relating to flexible power due to the increasing share of renewable energies were discussed in depth. Examples included “Control systems of the future, where is the journey heading?”, “Digital maintenance solutions – correct application of Industry 4.0” and “Increasing importance of digital twins in the energy supply”.
The topic “AI, GPT, cloud and other new technologies: Curse or blessing for automation and IT/OT security?” was addressed in the afternoon of the first day of the event as part of an exciting panel discussion. During the discussion, it became clear that AI technologies must be considered and used in combination in future in order to promote the development of control systems and effectively organise OT security while at the same time considering the risks posed by these very AI technologies. It was also noted that when using new AI-based technologies, human judgement must ultimately remain the final authority in order to make optimal decisions, taking all parameters into account.
The evening event was also used intensively to continue the technical discussions from the lecture halls and the trade exhibition and to cultivate old and new contacts.
At this KELI, however, it was also time to bid farewell to Dipl.-Ing. Jörg Kaiser, who retired after 23 years of very successful work at vgbe. Thanks to Jörg Kaiser’s activities, the topics relating to electrical, control and information technology have been prominently placed in the vgbe portfolio in recent years. The KELI, a flagship event in the vgbe events calendar, is largely due to his planning and creativity. The work in the field of electrical, control and information technology is now being continued by M. Eng. Zhenqi Willmann, who has been working at vgbe since March 2024.
In Zhenqi Willmann, vgbe has succeeded in recruiting a competent expert for the association’s work. After studying automation technology at the University of Beijing, Zhenqi Willmann studied electrical engineering in Germany on a Master’s degree programme. After working in the power plant sector, she will continue the successful work of recent years and provide new impetus with her expertise.
This year’s vgbe-KELI was once again a successful and inspiring specialist event that is helping to shape the future of electrical, control and information technology.
The vgbe team would like to thank its co-operation partners, all participants, speakers and exhibiting companies for their participation and their valuable contributions, which contributed to the success of this KELI.
The next KELI will take place in spring 2026. The date will be announced in good time on the vgbe website and in the vgbe energy journal.
