Resource and energy efficiency assessment of an industrial DC Smart Grid

Abstract In order to achieve a CO2-neutral production, which will characterize the sustainability efforts of companies in the coming years, a resource and energy efficient energy supply is essential. The DC Smart Grid enables the efficient integration of CO2-neutral, self-produced energy from, for example, PV systems or waste-operated CHPs. The central DC supply via active infeed saves resources in supply and grid filtering as well as in installation technology. The paper systematically analyses the differences between the DC Smart Grid and the AC grid from the perspective of resource and energy efficiency. These grids are then evaluated using real examples. The goal is to determine a reasonable minimum scaling as well as efficient application scenarios of industrial DC networks. The presented results are part of the DC-INDUSTRIE research project, funded by the German government.