Amprion, the Dortmund-based transmission system operator, and E.ON, Germany's largest distribution system operator, have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deepen their cooperation, E.ON announced on Thursday.
Through the MoU, the companies intend to jointly contribute to a fundamental energy system transformation.
The companies concur that they want to contribute to ensuring the security of the German electricity grid, given the end of nuclear energy in Germany in 2022 and the phasing out of coal by 2038 at the latest. Therefore, they maintain that electricity will have to be generated primarily from renewables, which poses new challenges for system stability.
The collaboration includes the launch of several joint projects over the coming months: the two companies want to develop concepts for jointly used, innovative operating resources and assets. One example of this is a decentralized large battery storage systems, also known as ‘grid boosters’ among experts.
According to E.ON, the partners are prepared to share developments, discuss them on a wider basis and work together to deliver further improvements.
Although collaboration between the high-voltage and extra-high-voltage networks has been established practice for some years, the energy transition requires further efforts across all network levels to also successfully integrate renewable energies.
Therefore, a further focus of the companies’ collaboration is network planning to ensure that the necessary expansion of the transmission and distribution networks is even more closely coordinated so that it can be delivered as safely and efficiently as possible.
"The success of the energy transition will be decided at the interface between the transmission and distribution grids. We are convinced of the advantages of close cooperation between the different network levels. Our goal is to jointly get them ready for 2050," said Amprion's CEO Hans-Jurgen Brick.
"We can only meet the increasingly complex challenges of the energy transition by collaborating across network operator boundaries. Jointly developing innovations, driving forward digitalization and optimizing processes are the key to a reliable and climate-friendly energy system of the future," Thomas Konig, E.ON's chief operating officer for networks, said.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr