Cross-energy management: Consumption in line with production

Cross-energy management: Consumption in line with production

How industry can contribute to grid stability

The sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow. Output from renewables is volatile, so the question is whether energy consumption can be organized so that it matches supply.

Industrial consumers offer the greatest potential. They are the biggest users of energy in Germany by far. Our steel mill in Duisburg alone uses as much energy as the city of Berlin. The difference is that Berlin has three million individual consumers, the steel mill just one.

Cross-energy management: Consumption in line with production

The supply of renewable energies can be forecast – like the weather.


This is where cross-energy management comes in: The idea is for large industrial electricity consumers to match their electricity demand and thus their production workflows to the supply of renewable energies. For this they need to make their processes and organization smarter and more flexible. In this way industry can make an important contribution to grid stability and the success of the transition to renewables.

The cement industry is another major electricity consumer in Germany. There are several processes in cement production which can easily be interrupted – for example the preparation of raw materials could be staggered. Energy-intensive processes could be scheduled to start when the supply of renewables is plentiful. The latest electricity price could be used as a signal. When energy is freely available, the price drops – and production can start.

One helpful factor in cross-energy management is that the supply of renewable energies can be forecast – like the weather – with a sufficient degree of accuracy, providing a good basis for flexible production planning.