insights into the SmartCity Lab of Innsbruck's municipal utilities
- 17.01.2023
- News Study Program
Students of Energy & Sustainability Management in their fifth semester with Mag. Sophia Neuner and Dr. Miriam Lettner.
The Smart City Lab of Innsbruck's municipal utilities was the destination of an excursion in November 2022. The laboratory serves to optimize energy systems by taking a holistic view of electricity, heating and transportation.
In order to achieve national and international climate protection targets, the use of fossil fuels must be restricted and the usage of renewable energies optimized. Currently, increasing electrification is taking place, especially in the areas of transportation and heat generation, where fossil fuels are predominantly used. The additional demand for electrical energy should be provided sustainably. As part of the EU Sinfonia project, the Smart City Lab of Innsbrucker Kommunalbetriebe was established in 2018. To achieve a holistic view and optimization of energy systems, the electricity, heating and transport sectors were coupled at the local level.
SMART CITY LAB IN RECORDING
On November 23, 2022, two groups of students from the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol had the opportunity to visit the Smart City Lab. The two teachers – Prof. (FH) Dr. Wolfgang Woyke and Dr. Miriam Lettner – led the bachelor students of Energy & Sustainability Management and the current international exchange students through the modern laboratory.
Sophia Neuner, herself a Kufstein graduate in energy management, led through the Smart City Lab program. Among other things, she illustrated the important role of electricity in the energy system. The topic of electricity storage, as well as sector coupling and the associated challenges, were discussed. The opportunities and challenges of an intelligent energy management system were also vividly presented and discussed with the students.
The holistic view of sustainability towards a decarbonization of processes is also the subject of a practical project that will be carried out together with IKB this semester.