The transition to a sustainable energy economy for industrial manufacturing

DC smart grids for production halls

Research News /

Most production plants today are still powered by alternating current. In the long term, however, research teams from the Fraunhofer Institutes for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB would like to see industrial manufacturing shift to operating with direct current. In the collaborative research project DC-INDUSTRIE 2, these teams have joined forces with more than 30 partners to develop new power supply systems for industry. The idea is to link all of a factory’s electrical systems to an intelligent DC grid (Direct Current) so as to make electrical supply more energy-efficient, stable and flexible. This will also help expedite the transition to a new energy economy in the industrial sector.