It is the sticking point of renewable energies: green electricity from wind and sun is generated off-load, i.e. independently of actual demand. In other words, only when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. And it is precisely this discrepancy between generation and consumption that leads to constant ups and downs in electricity prices - right down to negative prices at times when so much electricity is available that electricity consumers can even earn money. So what if you could take a look into the future every day? If you knew not only how the weather would develop, but also how much electricity you would need. If you knew exactly how much drinking water was needed where and which systems had to run when and how.
For large electricity consumers such as the Haltern waterworks, such a view into the future is an enormous advantage in a number of ways. For example, the pumps alone that transport the water into the mains network require around 34 gigawatt hours of electricity every year. "AsWa fulfils the role of a global optimiser, analogous to a navigation system in a car, to determine the most sustainable and safest way to produce drinking water and generate energy," says Kley-Holsteg. However, behind this rather simplified description of services lies highly complex software that reads, processes, analyses and visualises data in real time.
The centrepiece of the system are data-driven forecasts based on the three main influencing factors - water demand, energy generation and electricity prices. And these forecasts can be made up to 32 hours in advance. AsWa uses weather data and historical consumption data to learn, for example, that water consumption regularly increases towards the evening on hot days because people water their gardens, or that water consumption regularly falls in the morning on public holidays because people sleep longer. Based on this "look into the future" and taking into account a variety of operational conditions, AsWa draws up corresponding recommendations.
"We have formulated four key added values for AsWa," explains Kley-Holsteg. The top priorities are security of supply and energy efficiency. In other words: "AsWa provides us with recommendations on how we can ensure the necessary water demand with as little risk of a supply bottleneck as possible and with as little energy output as possible." The system itself learns quickly and is able to "learn" to recognise and adapt to "shocks" in usage behaviour, such as during the pandemic, within a few weeks.
The AI also analyses the energy market and - added value number three - can react flexibly to price impulses. "We are talking about optimisation based on the energy market, which has both economic and sustainable advantages." Thanks to AsWa, Gelsenwasser can purchase green electricity not only when the price is low, but above all at times when there is an oversupply - which in turn contributes to grid stability, as the waterworks purchases large quantities of electricity. A further expansion of AI performance would also be conceivable here. Keyword: algotrading. "The assistance system could react in real time and, depending on current developments, could also sell electricity contingents that have already been purchased because it becomes apparent that they are not needed, for example due to unforeseen high levels of in-house generation." However, this is still a long way off.
In other areas, however, Gelsenwasser is already working flat out on a future reorientation. At the end of this process is the topic of energy autonomy, which is directly linked to the third added value factor. "This is about the intelligent interconnection of energy generation and consumption at the waterworks. We are talking about the old and the new world here. In the old world, we primarily only had energy consumers at a waterworks. In the new world, in-house generation and energy consumption are converging in terms of the balance sheet, for example through the expansion of photovoltaics and wind power. The clear aim is to utilise our own green energy to cover the energy requirements of our drinking water production." Although an energy recovery plant and two small PV systems are already in use in Haltern, their output of a maximum of 30,000 kilowatt hours per year is negligible for a company that calculates in gigawatt hours. Therefore, over the next four years, Gelsenwasser wants to expand the solar and wind power sector in a targeted manner - and develop AsWa even more clearly than before into an "intelligent energy flow manager" that optimises the interplay between in-house generation and consumption.
Double award
The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) has honoured Gelsenwasser AG with two prizes in 2023: The Gelsenkirchen-based company received the Environmental Management Award in the categories "Best Strategy for Sustainable Corporate Development" and "Best Climate and Environmental Protection Measure" for the development of its AI-controlled waterworks assistance system (AsWa).
"AsWa is therefore looking to the future in several respects: How will water demand develop? How will the energy market develop? How will in-house generation and operational processes develop?" All these forecasts require a lot of data and a lot of interfaces. And it needs people - both now and in the future. "Our hybrid approach benefits from human-machine interaction, from working together as equals. AsWa learns well and AsWa learns quickly, but the decades of experience of our specialists continue to be enormously important for the processes at the waterworks."
Gelsenwasser developed the intelligent assistance system together with the Dortmund-based company Logarithmo, a spin-off of TU Dortmund University. This corporate cooperation brings together expertise in the fields of water management, AI, modelling and data infrastructure, in which the start-up complements the traditional 135-year-old company. And it does so sensibly and successfully. "In fact, we are now at a stage where we can offer our system as a market-ready product, because every waterworks can benefit from this software." Another plus in terms of economic performance.
The project has also shown that such extensive transformation processes work with a start-up mentality as well as experience and tradition. Gelsenwasser has therefore been seeking contact with "young regional talent" for some time via a regular start-up pitch. "We have the bright minds we need for the digital transformation in the Ruhr region. We just need to get them interested in us and the sustainable management of our most basic resources. AsWa clearly demonstrates what is possible in the region. There was a pitch, which was followed by a collaboration. There was a pilot, which became a product. That's exactly the kind of success story you want to hear and what it takes to build something new."
You mind also find this interesting:
