2023 in review – key developments in the energy sector

The Line of Business Utilities at adesso published nearly 40 blog posts in 2023 on an equal number of exciting topics. Despite the war in Ukraine and the associated bottlenecks in the supply of natural gas, one issue remains constantly on our minds in Germany: climate change.

In this blog post, I will give you a final review of 2023 in the energy industry.

Focus topics in the German energy sector for 2023

The German energy industry faced a variety of challenges and exciting changes, driven by geopolitical events and changes to national law.

At the start of 2023, the Russian war of aggression presented the German government with a number of challenges.

• Natural gas prices were affected by tensions related to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Uncertainty on the energy markets led to wild price swings and poses a risk to the security of supply.
• To keep a lid on rising electricity prices and relieve the burden on private households and businesses, a price cap on electricity, gas and district heating was instituted by lawmakers. This measure is designed to lower the cost of energy by fixing the price of various sources of energy at defined levels. The potential impact on the energy transition was analysed in great detail.
• In view of the geopolitical situation, the expansion of the LNG infrastructure in Germany has taken on an increasingly important role as an alternative to natural gas from traditional suppliers.
• Despite these challenges, there was a boom in renewables. In the first three quarters of 2023, renewables reached a number of impressive targets and covered around 52 per cent of gross electricity consumption, an increase of nearly five per cent compared to the previous year. adesso had a part to play here in that it developed a software solution that makes it possible to use renewable energy plants efficiently all round the year, especially in the winter months.

How our partnership with the energy sector began

In 2023, adesso focused a lot of time and effort in establishing a dialogue with key players in the energy sector to demonstrate our wealth of expertise in the utilities segment. We attended a number of events to make this happen.

• E-World energy & water: In 2023, we were once again on hand at E-World, where representatives from the European energy industry come together to meet each year. adesso took the opportunity to showcase innovative solutions for the digitalisation of the energy industry.
• Stadtwerke Impact Day: At SID, where representatives of public utilities, local authorities and municipalities meet, we discussed how the challenges of the future can be solved together with experts from the energy industry.
• Smart Country Convention: We brought our expertise in the field of smart technologies to the table at SCC to contribute to discussions on the goals of a smart city and to aid efforts to achieve these goals.

Technological topics we promoted in 2023

We leveraged our expertise and contacts in the energy industry to develop targeted solutions to meet the challenges of the future. Over the past year, we have helped promote the following, among others:

• aDNA: With its grid connection portal, adesso offers a solution that can be used to apply for, review and implement grid connections to overcome the challenges posed by the growing number of heat pumps, photovoltaic systems and wallboxes for electric vehicles that are installed.
• VideKIS: Our research project is looking into the possibility of providing primary control power generated from renewable energy sources by means of virtual power plants made up of decentralised small-scale plants and micro-installations. The project is focused on the ability of decentralised energy generation plants such as wind turbines, run-of-river power plants and photovoltaic installations to also deliver system services.
• Hydrogen Goes Digital: In order to meet the expected increase in demand for hydrogen, we are using artificial intelligence to check whether gas grids are fully hydrogen-compatible. In this way, we are supporting gas grid operators as they make the switch to hydrogen.
• Grit&Analytics: With new data analytics methods, we are there to help distribution grid operators ensure the quality of power and build the energy management system of the future that is needed to make the energy transition happen.

Conclusion

The German energy industry faced a variety of challenges and changes in 2023. Despite a lot of uncertainties, climate change remained a key issue. adesso’s close partnership with the energy sector and its involvement in and organisation of industry events underscore its commitment to further supporting the expansion of renewables. Our IT and technological solutions such as aDNA, VideKIS, Hydrogen Goes Digital and Grit&Analytics can help overcome the challenges that lie ahead. The year in review highlights the challenges faced by the German energy industry and also focuses on innovative solutions in which adesso is playing an active role.

We will continue to work closely with the energy sector in the coming year and will also be actively involved in trade fairs and events. We will let you know where you can find us.

The German energy industry faced a number of challenges and changes in 2023. Despite a lot of uncertainties, climate change remained a key issue. adesso’s close partnership with the energy sector and its involvement in and organisation of industry events underscore its commitment to further supporting the expansion of renewables. Our IT and technological solutions such as aDNA, VideKIS, Hydrogen Goes Digital and Grit&Analytics can help overcome the challenges that lie ahead. The year in review outlines the challenges faced by the German energy industry and also focuses on innovative solutions in which adesso is playing an active role.

You will find more exciting topics from the world of adesso in our latest blog posts.