Full of Energy - Energie AG Oberösterreich

ANNUAL REPORT2007/2008THE GROUPGROUP MANAGEMENT REPORTTHE ENERGY SEGMENTTHE WASTE MANAGEMENT SEGMENTTHE WATER SEGMENTCONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTSResearch and DevelopmentResearch, development and innovation are integralcomponents of the entrepreneurial activities of theEnergie AG Group.During the expired business year, the expenses forresearch, development and innovation amounted toabout EUR 2.4 million. In the various entities of theGroup, about 235 staff members were responsiblefor performing this work, in addition to their day-todayduties.In addition to the activities within the company, theEnergie AG Group contributes decisively to researchactivities by participating actively in the energy re -search group of the Austrian Association of ElectricityCompanies and, on top of this, in the research policybodies of the European Commission, DirectorateGeneral Research, that deal with electricity issues. Inthis context, the company contributes expert knowledge and also assumes project tasks.In addition to a general technical orientation of re -search and development activities and of innovationprocesses, developments focusing on business ad -min istration aspects, socio-political topics and newforms of staff development and staff managementalso assume special priority.During the year under review, research, developmentand innovation were promoted, inter alia, in the followingprojects:●●●When constructing the new corporate head officeof Energie AG, i.e. the Power Tower, the necessarypreparatory work was performed so that verifiablebasic data can be compiled, and the relevant re -search data can be supplied for the innovativeenergy supply systems.In connection with the distribution grid, specialsoftware was designed and programmed extern -ally, which considerably improves the transmissionby Internet of commercial and technical data bythe plant builders and thus reduces transmissiontimes. Completeness of the data is mandatory,which ensures a secure and complete archiving ofthe data for subsequent processing jobs.In cooperation with other electricity distributionsys tem operators and research institutions in Aus -tria, first studies were begun concerning verifiablebasic data. The objective is to obtain reliable informationon grid stability by way of a higher level ofintegrating de centralized generation plants, whileusing the exist ing grid on an expanded scale. Withthe growth scenarios for decentralized productionfacilities in the medium-voltage system, regulatingprocesses were developed as alternatives tostronger lines. These were validated in simulationscovering one-year periods. Another test was toestab lish how a performance balance can be ob -tained by actively managing decentralized generationfacilities and major loads.●●●●The integration tests for AMIS, the new digitalelectricity meter generation, begun during the previousbusiness year, were successfully completedduring the expired business year. In the course ofthis test, the system was further developed and isnow ready for roll-out. In the next few months, alarge-scale trial operation with 10,000 meters willbe started.An innovative combination of operating radio transmissionand transmission technologies with fiberoptic lines was applied to study improvements ofthe range of radio transmissions. The result is toachieve a high transmission quality, both duringregular operations and during default incidents.New evaluation systems for selected energy efficiencymeasures in households were developedin cooperation with an external research institute.Saving potentials, costs, requirements for implementationand accountability, as defined by thedirective on energy end-use efficiency, were evaluated. By using values based on technical experience,plausible and transparent estimates, as wellas data from literature were validated.Together with an external institute, the natural gasbusiness area is engaged in a research project toexamine to what extent and under what frameworkconditions the fermentation process in bio-gasplants can be accelerated, thus reducing through -put times considerably.●●Together with an applied-science university, thewaste-management business area conducted a co -operation project on the use of residual materialsas energy sources for sterilization purposes. In particular,it was analyzed what process controls arenecessary so that the phosphor-rich ash, obtainedin the process, can be further processed into fertilizerand thus into a raw material.The business area water succeeded in a cooperationprojection with EU co-financing in ensuringthat a so-called water safety plan provides an on -going quality assurance for drinking water, at thesame time identifying and preventing possible risks.● In the course of further developing the perform -ance-oriented salary system, systems were devel -oped that allow the equal evaluation of similarfunctions throughout the Group on the basis ofabstract model job clusters. This will improve thepossibility to plan personnel costs. The specificnational framework conditions of industries andorganizations were especially taken into account.7879THE NATURAL GAS BUSINESS AREACONDUCTS ACTIVE RESEARCHINTO OPTIMIZING THE TIME REQUIREDFOR THE FERMENTATION PROCESSIN BIO-GAS PLANTS.