EUREF-Campus_en - EUREF AG

EUREF-Campus

Since acquiring the property in 2008, EUREF AG has been developing the city district around the “Gasometer” (Gasholder) into a real-life laboratory for the shift to renewable energy.

With an innovative community comprising business and science, a climate-neutral energy supply, an intelligent energy grid, energy-efficient buildings, a testing platform for future mobility and numerous research projects, daily proof is provided that the shift to renewable energy is doable and financially feasible.

The city district continues to further expand its function as a forum and information hub by means of events in connection with the subjects of environmental protection and sustainability, guided Campus tours and company visits as well as informative projects such as the EUREF Energiewerkstatt.

EUREF-Campus has been meeting the CO2 climate targets set by the Federal Government of Germany for the year 2045 since 2014.

Energy Concept

Energy-
Workshop ZeemoBase
Micro Smart Grid Sustainable building Smart transport concept

The energy supplied to EUREF-Campus is CO2-neutral. GASAG Solution Plus GmbH operates the EUREF Energiewerkstatt, which is the heart of the property in terms of energy. It generates 100 percent of the heating required on site.

The main element of the Energiewerkstatt is a combined heat and power plant. Biomethane combustion is used to power a generator to make electricity, which is fed directly into the Berlin power grid. The waste heat is used to heat water. At EUREF-Campus this is used to heat offices. The 90-degree water is pumped to the buildings through the underground district heating pipeline, which measures 2.5 kilometres.

Together with two smaller combined heat and power plants that produce electricity for operating the energy hub and zeeMobase, a large portion of the heating requirements at EUREF-Campus is covered. If additional heat energy is needed on very cold days, two low-temperature gas boilers are available for peak loads. In addition, the energy hub also provides cooling for the air-conditioning systems in the many service rooms and offices.

The energy hub is controlled by means of artificial intelligence, the so-called eco tool. Some 1,000 data points from the Energiewerkstatt and buildings transmit information on which energy is consumed in which buildings when. Weather forecasts and energy market data also factor into these calculations.

Power-to-heat / Power-to-cold technology makes it possible for the energy hub to store renewable energy. If too much energy is produced in solar parks or wind parks on sunny or windy days, this is registered in the energy hub. The excess electricity is then used to heat or cool water. The hot or cold water is stored in two well-insulated water tanks.

This storage system is part of the research project WindNODE, which is subsidized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

In addition, Audi operates a 1.9 MWh second-use battery at the Campus. 20 discarded batteries from e-tron test vehicles are hooked up to form a large stationary battery and serve the Campus as a testing environment and grid stabilizer.

You can take a tour of the EUREF Energiewerkstatt by GASAG Solution Plus. Let the experts guide you and experience live how the energy provision of the future works today.

Tours

Tour times are

Monday to Friday
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Maximum 20 persons

Advance registration is required for all tours.

Further information: energiewende-erleben.de

zeeMobase stands for zero emission energy and mobility base, and is a place where energy and mobility converge and are linked physically as well as digitally. Electricity is generated using renewable energy sources, stored locally and implemented in mobility. From a technical perspective, zeeMobase is a “micro smart grid” that distributes energy with the greatest possible efficiency.

A smart grid is an electricity grid in which various sources of energy, consumers and storage facilities are intelligently connected. The grid’s management harmonizes the fluctuating supply of regenerative energies and current consumption in a way which is ecological and economical. Since this is carried out in a limited space, it is referred to as a “micro smart grid”. There is still a connection to the public electricity mains. The objective is to relieve the public mains using energy flows that can be planned, and to increase the proportion of renewable energies.

Two car-sharing stations with a total of 36 charging points are connected to the micro smart grid. AC loading stations (22 kW) as well as DC charging stations (50 kW) are installed, and inductive charging for passenger cars and electric vans is integrated in the micro smart grid. The micro smart grid is operated by inno2Grid and Schneider Electric.

Heritage-protected buildings by renowned architect Alfred Messel (whose work includes the Pergamon Museum) and architecture with appeal are linked in a special way at the Campus and give the premises its character.

The existing brick buildings were modernized with consideration paid to the aspects of heritage site protection and energy efficiency. All newly constructed buildings will be integrated in the existing structures and implemented as certified “green buildings”. Newly constructed buildings with LEED Platinum certification, KfW Efficiency House 55 Standard, automated energy load management and innovative building technologies are hallmarks of EUREF-Campus.

Of course, these also include energy consumption optimized using monitoring systems from Schneider Electric. All buildings are connected to the local energy grid by means of “smart metering”, which measures and controls consumption in a centralized manner. Modern building materials, advanced building technologies and optimized energy usage combine climate and environmental protection with low operating costs – groundbreaking ideas that pay off! Moreover, many of the buildings have energy-saving insulation materials, triple-glazed windows with integrated sun protection and intelligent façades. The office illumination is automatically controlled according to the presence of persons and daylight. The materials were chosen for the highest levels of health and environmental compatibility.

But sustainability starts in the building process. Wolff & Müller has built here with complete CO2 neutrality. All the electricity used is from renewable sources and the building equipment is especially energy-efficient. Any CO2 footprint occurring despite all these measures is neutralized by Wolff & Müller by means of its own TÜV-certified CO2 projects.

A campus which is committed to modern mobility also needs a smart transport system.

Only electric vehicles (green), golf carts, taxis, bikes, pedestrians and emergency vehicles are permitted to use the inner area. This area is delimited by gates. Bikes can be parked outdoors at the various bike stations near the building entrances or underground in the garages where they are protected from the elements. As an incentive to come by bike, several buildings have change rooms and showers.

Vehicles with combustion engines (blue) are restricted to outside of the inner area. These include motorcycles and scooters which are not powered by electricity. Such vehicles are directed to parking garage 21-22 before they reach the gate if possible or they proceed behind the buildings to the underground parking of buildings 10-14.

Delivery vehicles with combustion engines (red) remain in the delivery zones set up behind the buildings. In individual cases, advance registration with Campus management is possible for deliveries by lorry which need to be made in the inner area.

This transport concept is supplemented by the continuous expansion of the charging infrastructure for electric cars and various sharing offerings.

100%

of the heating requirements of EUREF-Campus are covered by its own energy hub

2.500 metres

of underground district heating pipeline

2387 megawatt hours

of electricity generated by the CHP in the EUREF Energiewerkstatt

Mobility Offerings

EUREF-Campus is a holistic, smart city district of the future: In addition to electric mobility, sharing is a top priority. And: Autonomous driving has been undergoing testing here for quite some time.

Autonomous driving pilot project electric
mobility EUREF-Campus Sharing Offerings

For a few years now, whenever groundbreaking transport projects are the subject of discussion, one term is always mentioned: “autonomous driving”.

The idea behind it is as simple as it is far-reaching: not just that this technology can make people’s daily routines easier by relieving them of the tedious task of having to control the car themselves. Most importantly, it would be possible to minimize accidents and control the individual flow of vehicles to prevent traffic jams.

A future dream? Not anymore. The technology has already reached the testing stage and is expected to revolutionize first public transit and then individual local transport in a few years’ time. After an initial testing phase with the driverless electric minibus “Olli”, produced by the American company Local Motors, “Emily” was in regular operation at EUREF-Campus from December 2017 to April 2018. The vehicle was made by the French company EasyMile.

There used to be another driverless vehicle at EUREF-Campus, an autonomous street sweeper developed by Enway – a Swiss start-up which has set up operations with its three founders in Berlin. Enway develops self-driving and automated special-purpose vehicles such as street sweepers and bin lorries. The machine navigates with the help of cameras, sensors and a laser scanner. The first prototype was in operation at EUREF-Campus in 2017. The founders started at EUREF-Campus in the Green Garage, in the Accelerator programme of Climate KIC.

There are more than 150 charging stations for electric cars at EUREF-Campus, most of them can be found at zeeMobase. In addition, there are more charging stations on the 1st basement level of the new Building 21-22. Here you can connect to a charging station from any of the parking spots.

By the way, since 2017, driving vehicles with combustion engines in the inner area of the Campus is only permitted in exceptional cases. This area is solely reserved for pedestrians, cyclists and electric vehicles.

One anchor tenant acts as the main user of the innovative sharing and mobility service provider mobileeee, and makes the vehicle available to other EUREF campus tenants when it is not in use. The mobileeee vehicles are electrically powered and therefore emission-free and environmentally friendly on the road, as they are supplied with 100% green electricity on the EUREF campus. More detailed information can be found here.

nextmove is also represented on the campus. nextmove currently has 40 Teslas in the car pool, the biggest Tesla rental fleet in Germany. From a dynamic day to long-term rental with flexible termination options, anything is possible. This is how EUREF-Campus supports the switch to electric driving, allowing employees to comfortably test electromobility on their way home or on their way to work.

Needless to say, you also find other Berlin-wide sharing providers on the EUREF-Campus: DB-Bike emmy, TIER, Uber Jump, Lime, bird, ShareNow. – just to name a few.