(August 17, 2022, Frankfurt am Main) The concept of the all-electric society describes the vision of a carbon-neutral and sustainable world whose energy needs are met entirely by renewable electricity. For the DKE, the German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies, the all-electric society is the guiding principle for the future. To this end, it has now adopted a commitment in which it undertakes to consistently align its actions with the goals of the all-electric society. The conversion of today’s fossil-fuelled applications to electric and carbon-neutral energy sources and efficient energy management are key prerequisites for this.
A prerequisite for the all-electric society: sector coupling
Electrical and information technology are a crucial key in solving the global climate crisis. “The current energy and environmental crisis is a major challenge. Achieving the climate protection goals of the Paris Agreement particularly requires that society switch to renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels. Speed, coherence and coordination of measures are crucial here. And this is precisely what electrotechnical standardization can support and accompany,” says Michael Teigeler, DKE Managing Director. To achieve this, all sectors of our economy and society must be digitalized, automated and electrified, be it industry, our mobility, our buildings, our energy supply or the infrastructure. All sectors can then be connected and integrated based on this.
Standards for greater energy efficiency
In this way, energy efficiency can be optimised across systems. Fluctuations in the availability of electrical energy generated from the wind or the sun can be managed through flexible and coordinated consumption and storage systems. “It’s about the intelligent coupling of all sectors. Controllable consumers such as charging stations for electric vehicles contribute to the stability of the energy supply in an all-electric society. In industry, the intelligent coupling of charging station management with production planning increases efficiency. Standards make all this possible,” sums up Roland Bent, DKE President.
In its new commitment, the DKE identifies three levels at which it would like to specifically drive forward the all-electric society and sector coupling. Firstly, as an independent and neutral platform, it intends to promote and moderate the exchange and coordination of the requirements of the various sectors, thus creating the architectural framework for the necessary standardization. Secondly, the DKE drives forward the networking of interest groups worldwide for the standardization of a sustainable energy system. As part of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) global standardization organization, the DKE represents the German electrotechnical market and thus contributes to strengthening the innovative power of the German economy. Thirdly, the DKE aims to proactively exploit the opportunities of digitalization by creating digital standards (SMART standards) to make standards simpler, faster, more up-to-date and even safer.
