Hamburg, 28.03.2025 – Since December 1, 2024, the Hamburg-based power trader CFP FlexPower GmbH has been responsible for the dynamic electricity procurement for the electricity-controlled large heat pump, which supplies the Überseeinsel district in Bremen with over 1200 residential units with local heating and cooling. The Überseeinsel urban development project is part of Bremen's Überseestadt district and is creating a new residential and business quarter on 16 hectares. Stadt.Energie.Speicher GmbH is responsible for the planning, implementation and operation of a climate-friendly energy supply and is now cooperating with FlexPower in the area of electricity purchasing.
The idea at the heart of the new district's energy supply is to coordinate the supply of heating, cooling and e-mobility from PV and wind power with local energy consumption in the district, thus increasing the proportion of PV and wind power used. Flexible electricity consumers such as the electricity-led multi-megawatt flow water heat pump with a large heat storage unit, a liquid ice storage unit, a power-to-heat module and a redox flow battery help to achieve this. Together with all other, even non-flexible, electricity consumers, this results in a power of up to four megawatts, which must be dynamically optimised and supplied.
A system developed by Stadt.Energie.Speicher GmbH is responsible for orchestrating energy production and consumption. It creates a forecast for heating and cooling demand in the district and compares this with a forecast of the energy supply from PV electricity in the district and the renewable supply from the public grid. On the basis of this data, the self-learning control system then develops an optimal operating plan for the large heat pumps: they use electricity to generate heat precisely when sufficient wind and solar energy is available. This heat is stored in 17-metre-high buffer storage tanks and distributed to the buildings in the district as needed via the local heating network.
FlexPower feeds nationwide PV and wind forecasts as well as price forecasts into the system and, after feedback from the system, delivers the required amounts of electricity that are not supplied by the district's own PV systems from FlexPower's renewable portfolio as well as flexibly via the electricity exchange. In an initial step, dynamic, price-optimized procurement will take place via the day-ahead auctionn. In the future, however, the supply contract also provides for an even more dynamic procurement of the residual quantities via the intraday trading of the spot exchange, as well as participation in the balancing energy market.
As soon as empirical values for the consumption profile are available, an expansion of the procurement concept via Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) is also planned and contractually fixed. Stadt.Energie.Speicher GmbH can use the PPA platform PowerMatch, which is operated by FlexPower, to enter into long-term purchase agreements for tranches of its own electricity consumption directly with solar and wind power producers, thus obtaining fixed prices for part of the electricity consumed on the island. With standardised PPAs from PV, wind and flexibilities – such as from battery storage – PowerMatch provides the necessary long-term price signals and thus complements the optimisation on the short-term markets.
Tobias Werner, Managing Director of Stadt.Energie.Speicher GmbH, sees the collaboration as an opportunity for a socially responsible heating transition in Germany: “A high proportion of renewable energies in the electricity mix leads to lower electricity prices on the energy exchange. By purchasing electricity flexibly on the exchange in cooperation with FlexPower GmbH, we can not only integrate solar and wind energy into the system more efficiently, but also offer our customers reduced heating prices. After all, an affordable energy supply is crucial for the success of the energy transition.”
Max Amir Dieringer, Managing Director of CFP FlexPower GmbH, sees the supply concept as a signal to the industry: “If electricity production and consumption become more dynamic, supply concepts must follow suit in order to be able to serve electricity consumption as cost-effectively as possible. This project already combines all the necessary elements, from flexible and optimized consumption units to direct access to spot trading and fixed long-term prices via PPAs. In this sense, we are breaking down the entire energy transition into a single district.”
Contact
For press inquiries please contact
FlexPower GmbH | Jasmina Utzat | Communications | jutzat@flex-power.energy
STADT.ENERGIE.SPEICHER GmbH | Tobias Werner | Managing Director | info@stadt-energie-speicher.de
Pictures: Dr. Andreas Müller