Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FITProduction, mobility, communication or trade are based on a reliable, affordable and permanently available energy supply. It is precisely this sector that is undergoing a fundamental change from historically grown infrastructures to digitized, automated and interactive systems.
Designing the future development of energy supply systems
To successfully and anticipatively support this change, the team develops high-precision digital twins of the electricity supply system and tools for its planning, operation, automation and monitoring. In this context, the development of innovative supply concepts for energy systems that are highly influenced by renewable energies requires cross-sectoral model approaches and methods in particular. The analysis of the applicability and further development of information technologies (e.g. blockchain, high-performance computing, ...) for use in energy supply represents another area of application of the department.
Energy information systems and IT security
Due to the increasing digitization, future energy systems will increasingly be confronted with threats (e.g. IT attacks / failures) that could endanger the secure operation of grids and systems and thus also the critical supply task for the general public. Therefore, another cornerstone of the department is the development of tools and action concepts for planning, operation and monitoring of converged energy information networks. For example, interdisciplinary IT security tools and domain-specific procedures for attack detection and ICT monitoring are being developed.
Our current offer to partners from industry and the public sector:
- Planning and operation of sector-coupled and automated energy systems
- Simulation and development of central and local energy markets
- Integration and use of information and communication technologies (e.g. blockchain technology) in energy systems
- Cyber physical development environments and research in future energy information networks
- IT security technologies for prevention, detection and reaction
In our opinion, a goal- and application-oriented as well as responsible design of digitization within the backbone of the population and industry – the energy supply – can only be successfully with a strongly interdisciplinary approach and simultaneous access to profound knowledge. We therefore work in close cooperation with other departments of Fraunhofer FIT and partners, such as other Fraunhofer Institutes (e.g. Fraunhofer FKIE) or the Institute for High Voltage Equipment and Grids, Digitalization and Power Economicsand the Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems at RWTH Aachen University.