Climate change is already causing more extreme weather events, rising sea levels and increasing environmental pollution - carbon dioxide emissions must therefore be drastically reduced as quickly as possible. As the transport sector is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases worldwide, new, holistic solutions are needed to make individual mobility more sustainable.
The research project MIGRO (Microgrid Research and Experimentation Platform for Future Grids) of the Thuringian Energy Research Institute ThEFI , which is coordinated at the TU Ilmenau, combines the mobility of working people with solar-based power generation. The TU Ilmenau is providing test subjects at the university with eight charging stations for electric vehicles that are powered by clean solar energy generated from photovoltaic panels installed on the university campus. The stand-alone power grid enables charging with an output of up to 3.7 kilowatts - which is completely sufficient for the daily commute to work, for example, and also enables the most economical system configuration.
MIGRO project manager Dr. Steffen Schlegel, senior engineer at the Power Systems Group , one of three groups at TU Ilmenau involved in the Thuringian Energy Research Institute, sees great advantages in the self-sufficient charging park:
"Since the stand-alone grid is not dependent on the public supply grid, such a system can be operated at any location: in parking lots or even in areas with weak grids. With the MIGRO project, we want to show that CO2-free mobility can also be economical."
However, as the system requires energy from the sun in order to charge, it is also dependent on the weather. After several days of bad weather, vehicles may only be able to be charged to a limited extent or not at all. To enable users of EV charging stations to plan the charging of their vehicles, they can access all the necessary information in real time via an open source online platform: the available charging stations, how much solar power is currently being generated, how much of it is being used and the expected charging capacity for the day. According to a survey conducted by the Group for Media Research and Political Communication at TU Ilmenau, participants in the MIGRO project to date are very satisfied with the smart charging infrastructure.
The charging park at TU Ilmenau is part of a long-term study until 2029, in which the system is constantly being technically improved. In the coming years, the aim is to test new system management concepts, increase the capacity of the system by adding additional solar panels and improve overall efficiency. This would enable e-car drivers at TU Ilmenau to use their e-vehicles in an almost CO2-neutral way. They have already covered a total of over 85,000 kilometers in 45 months with virtually zero emissions.
Dr. Steffen Schlegel
Power Systems Group+49 3677 69-1488
steffen.schlegel@tu-ilmenau.de
