Gewobag ED: Storage technologies and the future

Karsten Mitzinger, Managing Director of Gewobag ED Energie- und Dienstleistungsgesellschaft mbH, is convinced that it is more relevant than ever to decouple the consumption of resources from economic growth factors. Gewobag ED, one of the housing association’s four subsidiaries, has just been awarded the BBU-ZukunftsAward 2020 (BBU Future Award 2020) for a climate protection pilot project that involves sector-coupling steel storage for renewable energy.

What kind of components are necessary to get future-orientated pilot projects for climate protection off the ground? How important are synergies and cooperation partners? And why do setbacks also have to be part of making progress? An interview about the strategic orientation of the Gewobag energy service provider.

Why does Gewobag have its own energy service provider?

Karsten Mitzing: Gewobag recognised early on that it makes sense to combine technical expertise in the energy sector with economic efficiency and by doing so, provide the Federal Government and the State of Berlin with support to achieve climate protection goals. The prerequisites for a future-orientated, secure, efficient and price-stable heat and energy supply were created with the decision to establish ED.

What significance do environmental and climate protection have in Gewobag ED’s portfolio?

Karsten Mitzing: Environmental and climate protection is an essential part of ED and within Gewobag. Gewobag’s strategic goals also include climate protection and the smart city. ED is an essential driver in implementing this strategic focus.

How long has energy transition played a role at Gewobag?

Karsten Mitzing: I think that the decision made in 2013 by the Management Board to establish our own energy subsidiary represents the first steps towards improving the energy situation of our heating supply. Even at that time, Gewobag was already looking at how to actively shape energy transition. I believe that in this respect, Gewobag has a leading role in the housing industry.

Why do stable energy supply costs play such a relevant role for the end consumer?

Karsten Mitzing: Costs are always a relevant factor. Especially now in the corona crisis, people are looking at their money more than ever. Generally, stable energy costs are, of course, an essential aspect of supply and important to the citizens and Gewobag’s tenants. However, we can’t forget, even if the topic is not popular, that we are investing in innovative energy and supply technologies within the framework conditions set by legislators. Investments cost money and must be refinanced.

On the one hand, citizens want stable energy costs and on the other hand, they also want a secure and environmentally friendly energy supply, which can only succeed with modern facilities and efficient operation and monitoring. It is up to us to evaluate how we can optimise the energy supply and, on the other hand, do it in a way that is cost-efficient so that all energy costs remain affordable. That is the crux of the matter; climate protection costs money, and this should not be glossed over and hidden – we must be allowed to address it.

How are you dealing with it?

Karsten Mitzing: I think we’re doing pretty well. We are not a company with different economic objectives as is the case with other energy suppliers. From my point of view, that is a major advantage. And we have a lot of good people in our team who consider how to make modernisation as cost-efficient as possible.

The Gewobag ED receives the BBU Future Award 2020 for its storage technology

Gewobag ED was awarded the BBU-ZukunftsAward 2020 for the steel storage system in Bottroper Weg, a district in Tegel, as an exemplary climate protection project. The project is currently in the test phase. What are the expected results for the near future?

Karsten Mitzing: For a start, this is a great project that is being met with nationwide approval. This is really a project for which you can say: we’re looking at the bigger picture. Steel storage is one of the topics that is otherwise only relevant for industry. Right now, we are in the phase where we are not yet seeing the results. This size and kind of steel storage system is here and it’s ready in time for the so-called “burn-in phase”, which is now starting. After that, the actual test phase will begin. Then we will see exactly whether the technology does what we imagine.

It is then mainly a matter of synchronisation with our heating and, of course, power networks. Then we can test whether A, the technology works, and B, what more do we have to demand from legislators to ensure that these kinds of projects, if they are to become mainstream, are also economically viable.

We expect the first results and interim analyses by the end of 2020 and can then reflect on them. But the interesting thing about the project is not necessarily the technology alone, but how we came to be involved in such a project with the various partners. One is the idea. We have good ideas and we have a few more up our sleeve. But the exciting thing is bringing partners together. They all have different strategic orientations, different goals. And bringing them all in line is fun. Convincing everyone involved that it’s for a good cause. That’s the beauty of a project like this, making efforts to persuade people to rethink.

How much development and pioneering work is actually behind a project like steel storage?

Karsten Mitzing: Originally, we redesigned the heating concept for Bottroper Weg in Berlin-Tegel. We reduced two boiler houses to one. And there has always been the question, also with our partner Vattenfall: what can be further developed in this district? Then the company Lumenion came into play, which had the idea with the steel storage system and was looking for a best practice model. Storage technologies are the future. The timing was perfect.

Of course, it’s easy to see only the nice things when it comes to success, but until then it was a complex procedure to get the right partners on board, convince those involved, create the necessary capacities and plan and secure financial budgets. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity once again to thank all those involved in Gewobag and the external participants for the great cooperation.

Pilot projects of Gewobag ED in the field of storage technologies

Why are pilot projects important?

Karsten Mitzing: Generally, pilot projects are important for testing ideas in practice so that they can then be scaled or expensive bad investments can be avoided. But, of course, we are overwhelmed with enquiries because we, as Gewobag, have a large portfolio. If we were to follow up all enquiries, we would have a mishmash of pilots and no strategy. We need the right mix and the right pilots to go through certain topics in practical tests.

A project always needs an approach; it needs to be properly thought through and can sometimes go wrong. That’s all part of it. We approach the topics to show whether or not they are feasible. That’s why cooperation is so important – because we don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel. It’s about mutually exchanging information and participation.

What pilot projects for the future is ED currently working on?

Karsten Mitzing: ED selects its projects very carefully and meticulously on the basis of existing capacities. We can’t wear out our capacities and employees. Each idea is discussed internally and analysed with regard to its necessity and chances of success. We will now try to successfully put the steel storage system into operation and see what effects this technology has and what adjustments the legislator will have to make to establish storage technologies as an important factor while implementing the energy transition in the energy industry. Then we can think about the next projects that are already in the back of our minds or in the pipeline.

Living and dwelling in the future

When does the future begin for you?

Karsten Mitzing: Juliane Werding has a beautiful passage in her song “Tränen im Ozean” (Tears in the Ocean): “Only because the people still can hope does the future begin each day.” I think this line is brilliant. I think it’s fitting. With every project started today, with every decision we make today, we shape the future – both professionally and privately.

How important are partners for implementing these kinds of projects?

Karsten Mitzing: This is extremely important, but you can’t force it either. It also has to grow every now and then. My opinion on this is clear and I say it over and over: without strong and reliable partners, many projects cannot be implemented successfully. Due to the complexity of most topics, especially with regard to the smart city topic, a trusting project partnership is the prerequisite for success.

How do you envisage the city of the future?

Karsten Mitzing: I think the demands on the city of the future will be varied. New solutions for energy supply and mobility are needed. Waste management must be needs-based and efficient. And what is still really underestimated at present is the issue of a needs-based drinking water supply and the careful use of this resource. And there will be networking in the cities. Data will be the central basis for efficient municipal administration and increasing ambient intelligence in the public sphere and in our own home environment. In my field, for example, that would be integration into an intelligent power supply.

Growing prosperity with climate-friendly models

How can economic growth work in times of climate protection and energy transformation?

Karsten Mitzing: This will be and will remain a key issue. We must highlight different ways because it’s not growth itself that is problematic, it is the issue of what is growing. Steady economic growth with a finite consumption of fossil resources is not future-orientated. Environmental protection, health, broader access to clean drinking water and clean energy, as well as climate-friendly mobility can provide growing prosperity. We have to decouple economic growth from fossil energy consumption. Maybe we can learn something from the corona crisis: we should think about not defining economic growth as the only benchmark for prosperity.

Visions and setbacks are part of stepping into the future

How important are visions?

Karsten Mitzing: I think visions are important; they provide food for thought to move parts of the systems out of their fixed structures and to create something new. We have to get away from the idea of: “Oh, well, it’s always been like this.” A good example for me in modern society is the entrepreneur Elon Musk, although sometimes controversial, with his visions and his consistent way of implementing them. With PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX, he has implemented revolutionary projects more or less successfully. All of these were things that people previously thought weren’t possible.

… and setbacks?

Karsten Mitzing: Of course, they exist and they are part of it. You have to learn to deal with them. You can’t always win and you can’t always do everything right. As Winston Churchill once said: “The art is to stand up once more than you’ve been pushed down.”

That’s why I always say to my team: Enjoy the good moments and learn from the failures, that’s the best basis for the next projects.

If you had one wish…

Karsten Mitzing: The last few weeks have put a lot into perspective. I believe that at this time, I only have one wish – for us all to be healthy, to return to economic stability and to return to a new kind of normality soon.

Thank you for talking with us!

Climate protection project: sector-coupled steel storage system

The pilot project was implemented in 2019 by Gewobag ED in cooperation with Vattenfall Energy Solutions and the energy storage start-up Lumenion in a Gewobag residential area with 1,680 apartments in Berlin-Tegel as part of the windNODE funding project. The steel storage system takes peaks in regional generation from wind and solar energy and makes them available as renewable energy (thermal energy and electricity) as needed. With this, Gewobag is contributing to the regulation of resources and operating costs of existing buildings in urban areas, in addition to ensuring neighbourhood supply.

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