Innovations and challenges of the energy transition in smart city districts

Sven Leonhardt, M.Sc., born in 1983, studied business administration (Dipl.- Kfm.) with a focus on controlling and financial management at the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau (WHZ) from 2006 to 2011. From 2011 to 2014 he was a research assistant in the working group Integrated Information Systems (AIIS) of the WHZ. Parallel to this activity, he completed a master's degree in Management and Systems Intelligence (M.Sc.) at WHZ from 2012 to 2014. Since 2014, with a one-year interruption, he has been working as a project manager and project leader in scientific reallaboratory projects at the city of Zwickau with a focus on: Innovations and Transfer, Energy Transition, Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), Controlling and KPI Systems, Performance Management, Business Model Development, Business Process Integration and Technical Assistance Systems.

Tobias Nusser, M.Sc., is an employee at the Steinbeis Innovation Centre energieplus (SIZ) and the company EGS-plan in Stuttgart in the position of deputy head of the energy conception department and as project manager. He studied mechanical engineering at Ulm University of Applied Sciences and Sustainable Energy (SENCE) at HfT Stuttgart. His work focuses on innovative energy concepts for buildings and districts as well as municipal climate protection concepts. He has been working for more than 10 years in numerous research projects in the context of buildings in the energy-plus or nearly-zero-energy standard as well as on issues of climate neutrality or achieving the energy transition goals at district and city level.

Jürgen Görres, Dr., is head of the Energy Division in the Office for Environmental Protection of the State Capital Stuttgart. After studying process engineering and obtaining his diploma in 1989 at the University of Stuttgart, he worked there as a scientist at the Institute for Process Engineering and Steam Boiler Technology, which he completed in 1996 with a doctorate in the field of energy engineering at the University of Stuttgart. Since 1996, he has been employed at the Office for Environmental Protection of the State Capital Stuttgart: first as head of the section „heat management and energy concepts" and since 2006 as head of the entire energy department. In this role, Dr. Görres is responsible for the development and implementation of the city’s energy and climate protection concept. In doing so, it is a matter close to his heart to develop Stuttgart into a climate-neutral city. In addition, he is involved in various energy working groups (VDI, German Association of Cities and Towns, Council of European Municipalities and Regions) and leads several research projects in the field of energy and its efficient use.

Sven Rosinger, Dr.-Ing., has been a group leader in the Energy research department at OFFIS - Institute of Computer Science in Oldenburg since 2014. He and his research group Energy Efficient Smart Cities look especially at aspects of digitalization, which are becoming increasingly essential for the development of energy-efficient neighbourhoods and cities

Gerhard Stryi-Hipp, Dipl.-Phys., heads the Smart Cities group at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg. He was Managing Director of the German Solar Industry Association for 15 years and has been working scientifically at Fraunhofer ISE since 2009. With his research group, he elaborates energy concepts for climate-neutral cities and neighbourhoods and develops methods for their creation. He coordinates interdisciplinary cooperation in Living Lab projects and is the scientific director of the project EnStadt:Pfaff.

Martin Eckhard, Dipl.-Ing, is working since 30 years at the interface between business, science and regions. Basis are his studies in mechanical engineering, technical-economical environmental protection and mathematics. After initial activities in design engineering and toolshop management, he was active for 22 years in innovation funding in all fields of technology with partners from science and industry. By a further change into economy he was responsible for funding within the range of automation technology. Since 2016 he is developing the PtX-initiative ENTREE100 at Entwicklungsagentur Region Heide. He gives support to all regional partners in all questions concerning funding, develop new projects and coordinate QUARREE100.