At a launch event attended by the companies and research institutions involved in the project, the Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein today officially kicked off the project by presenting the funding approval letter to Prof. Wolfgang Benecke, Director of Fraunhofer ISIT. The budget for the innovation cluster amounts to four million euros, of which the state and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will each contribute one million euros, with the remaining two million euros to be provided by the participating partners. Further funding from the State of Lower Saxony and industry partners is earmarked for the innovation cluster’s work in Lower Saxony.

The Minister-President praised Fraunhofer ISIT as the “state’s workshop for the future”: “This funding decision represents a sound investment in the future of our state. With the new Power Electronics Innovation Cluster, ISIT is making a decisive contribution to tackling key issues such as the energy transition,” said Albig. This, he added, would strengthen Schleswig-Holstein’s position as a centre for energy and business.

The new innovation cluster, involving the West Coast University of Applied Sciences, Kiel University (CAU) and Kiel University of Applied Sciences on the research side, and the companies Vishay, Siliconix Itzehoe, Danfoss Silicon Power, REpower Systems, Dispatch Energy Innovations and Reese und Thies Industrieelektronik on the industry side, aims to develop power electronics systems for renewable energy, primarily for wind turbines. For this reason, the initiators from Fraunhofer ISIT have also brought on board colleagues from the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES) in Bremerhaven and Hanover. With their wide-ranging expertise in wind energy – ranging from materials development to issues of grid optimisation – the IWES scientists will provide expert support to the power electronics specialists within the new cluster.

Schleswig-Holstein offers ideal conditions for the establishment of a Fraunhofer innovation cluster focusing on wind energy, as both the presence of and collaboration with strong partners and the large number of potential customers in the region are key factors for success. Wind energy in Schleswig-Holstein is already of great importance nationwide. Furthermore, the region has considerable land and sea area potential for the expansion of onshore and offshore wind energy. For instance, around 20 offshore wind farm projects have currently been approved. At the same time, Schleswig-Holstein is home to numerous companies in the wind energy sector: from turbine manufacturers and suppliers, through wind farm developers and operators, to maintenance service providers.

On the one hand, the innovation cluster will improve the exchange of information between cluster members and other external stakeholders through events, trade fair appearances, and consultancy and support services; on the other hand, it will initiate and carry out specific, jointly coordinated research projects on power electronics for wind turbines – an extremely promising field of technology with a wide range of applications. This is because power electronics has developed into a key technology of the 21st century. It ensures energy efficiency, from generation right through to the end user, and has thus become the decisive lever for energy savings through demand-driven energy consumption and the use of renewable energy. It offers the appropriate means of countering rising electricity prices.

As the importance of renewable electricity generation from wind farms grows, the demands on the quality of the electricity fed into the grid naturally increase as well. Wind turbine manufacturers must significantly improve the reliability of the components used, particularly given the offshore operation of wind turbines in extremely harsh environmental conditions. This gives rise to key requirements for the power electronics systems to be developed within the innovation cluster: the focus is on improving efficiency, extending service life, reducing costs and miniaturising the systems. The weight and volume of the components are subject to particular constraints, especially when they are to be housed within the nacelles of wind turbines.

For the Fraunhofer Institutes ISIT and IWES, the launch of this innovation cluster provides an excellent organisational framework for ensuring that their developments are consistently guided by the needs of industry. The simultaneous exchange with university partners ensures that the latest research findings are taken into account and offers the opportunity to attract university graduates to work on the key topic of power electronic components. The work of the innovation cluster will bring together various individual developments by the partners, systematise the exchange of information and strengthen existing collaborations. ISIT will use the collaboration within the innovation cluster to showcase its own expertise in the field of power electronics systems with high visibility, to strengthen companies’ ties to the institute, and to attract new partners for collaborative projects.