The energy sector is going through a period of radical change. The task now is to find out which technologies need to be utilised and which hurdles need to be overcome to restructure the electricity grid rapidly and safely. For this reason, Rittal and Eplan invited key players in the energy sector to the first Energy Industry Dialogue. The event was held on 20 March and was called “The energy transition needs stronger power grids” in the “Schalthaus” of the Grand Hall in Essen (a coal mine’s former power distribution station.)
Grid operators, integrators, component manufacturers and consultancy companies accepted the invitation to the Energy Industry Dialogue. Experts from the power grid industry used the event for an intensive exchange of ideas about visions, challenges and building blocks for a future-proof grid.
The speakers at the Industry Dialogue presented a variety of solutions and examples of implementation, with a focus on digitalisation, standardisation and automation. From the manufacture of components and switchgear to the operation and maintenance of the systems, they represent the most effective levers for transforming the sector, ensuring energy security, while meeting climate targets at the same time. If the energy transition is to succeed, these levers must be used to rapidly expand and restructure the energy sector, a gigantic task given the complexity of the electricity grid. Skilled labour shortages, supply bottlenecks, and high cost pressures further complicate matters. It is time to identify the building blocks that make up the energy transition.
The German electricity grid: 1.9 million kilometres long and with 800 grid operators
The complexity of the topic quickly became clear as Stephanie Kudak, Vertical Market Manager at Eplan, described the current state of the power grids: they cover 1.9 million kilometres in Germany and are run by 800 network operators. Around 500,000 transformers must be manufactured and installed by 2045 to create a bidirectional grid. This is a complex task that, along with the levers mentioned above, also requires businesses to make a cultural change, as industrial engineers Svenja Eger and Stefan Vlachakis from Capgemini demonstrated in an informative presentation.
The panel discussion on “Electricity grids in the focus of digitalisation” rounded off the morning. Representatives of Hamburger Energienetze (the Hamburg power grids), the Technical University of Dortmund and TenneT described their experience with digitalisation projects. Bendic Ritt, Hamburger Energienetze, presented the “gridlytics” platform, which links up the grid, metering and customer stations, control systems, BIM models and master data management systems. As one example, Rittal showed how circuit diagrams created with Eplan solutions can be exported to the platform and used again there. One exciting research project at the Technical University of Dortmund addressed the way that market and grid simulations can help achieve grid flexibility.
Building blocks of the energy transition: market players in dialogue
In a second panel discussion held during the afternoon, JST Power Equipment, Hitachi Energy, Microsoft and Eplan identified the building blocks of the energy transition and discussed concrete implementation models. Gerrit Helms, Vertical Market Manager Energy at Eplan, presented the “Eplan Project”, an ecosystem through which component manufacturers, operators, switchgear manufacturers and system integrators can exchange their data with each other, so enabling the planning and operation of everything from wind farms to substations. The topics of the panel presentation by Daniel Schenzer and Philippe Gnand from Microsoft were predictive analytics and maintenance, energy forecasting and smart grids. They described impressively how network operators can use AI for tasks ranging from planning to maintenance.
The contributions to the discussion showed the range of potential of the available technologies and the existing hurdles. At the end of the day, the organisers and participants agreed that the Herculean task of the energy transition could only be achieved at an appropriate pace through dialogue.
Trade fair information: Interested parties can find out which solutions Eplan and Rittal offer for the rapid conversion of energy systems at the SmarterE trade show, being held from 5 to 7 May 2025 in Munich, and at CIRED from 16 May to 19 June 2025 in Geneva.