At the beginning of July 2019, a new extension building was inaugurated at Fraunhofer IISB in Erlangen. Numerous guests from government, business, and science attended the opening ceremony. The event included laboratory tours and the subsequent symposium entitled »Energiesysteme neu denken« (Rethinking Energy Systems).

Together with extensive outdoor facilities, almost 3,000 m² of usable space were created for offices and laboratory facilities. The extension now offers enough space for the more than 300 employees of the institute. In addition, the building works as a “living” demonstration and test platform for the innovative energy systems developed at Fraunhofer IISB and the efficient coupling of regenerative power generators, electrical and chemical storage systems, and consumers. Comprehensive energy monitoring, the inclusion of weather data, and the use of artificial intelligence allow optimum operation of the institute’s overall infrastructure. A large medium-voltage test bay in the extension building allows the examination of specimens with power of up to 20 MVA and a voltage of up to 30 kV. With a specially developed modular multi-level converter, it is also possible to simulate grid anomalies and failure conditions at a predefined point in time.

Financing to the tune of around €15 million was largely covered by the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).