Fraunhofer IPA: How companies reduce investment costs and secure electricity price compensation

For manufacturing companies, the energy system is no longer a minor matter, but a decisive competitive factor. The price for emission allowances in the European Union in 2025 was around 69 euros per tonne. For energy-intensive companies, the indirect CO2 costs quickly add up to millions. The electricity price compensation absorbs up to 75 percent of these costs and the industrial electricity price under discussion promises a cap of five cents per kilowatt hour for half of the electricity requirement.

However, the hurdles have risen. Anyone who wants to access the money must provide an ecological service in return. In concrete terms, this often means that for every euro of funding, 50 to 80 cents must be demonstrably invested in efficiency measures. “Many managing directors are now faced with the question: How do I invest this sum in such a way that it does not appear on the balance sheet as a lost expense, but instead generates a return on investment?” says Professor Alexander Sauer, Acting Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA. “Our energy system planning provides precisely this answer. We transform the regulatory obligation into a profitable business case.”

Future-proof despite political volatility

The political debate about subsidy levels, caps and deadlines is volatile. What is discussed today as the industrial electricity price may look different in detail tomorrow. This is precisely the strength of Fraunhofer IPA’s approach: simulation-based planning identifies so-called “no-regret measures”, i.e. investments that pay off regardless of how the regulation is structured in detail.

“We simulate the factory’s energy system under various future scenarios: What happens if the industrial electricity price doesn’t come after all? What if grid charges continue to rise?” explains Timm Kuhlmann, Head of Energy Systems and Storage Research at Fraunhofer IPA. “The result is robust solutions. We show companies which measures – such as the use of waste heat or the dimensioning of a storage system – have such a high return on investment that state subsidies are just the icing on the cake, but no longer a prerequisite for success.” Fraunhofer IPA is thus making companies independent of the uncertainty in Berlin or Brussels. The transformation concept is transformed from bureaucratic evidence into a strategic investment guide.

The three levers of cost reduction

The planning aims to exploit all regulatory and technical savings potential. In addition to pure energy savings, Fraunhofer IPA uses three main levers:

1. Peak shaving (peak shaving): Energy storage systems balance out expensive peak loads, which massively reduces the performance price of grid charges.
2. Atypical grid usage: intelligent control shifts consumption to times when the grid is under little load. This allows companies to reduce their grid charges.
3. Optimization of self-generated electricity: The system is configured in such a way that the self-generated electricity from photovoltaic systems is used to the maximum instead of feeding it in at low cost and buying expensive grid electricity.

A lighthouse project with the company Schaltbau shows how this planning works in practice. Fraunhofer IPA supported the planning of the new “NExT Factory” in Velden near Landshut as a system integrator. The aim was to achieve CO2-free production, which also serves as a showcase for a DC smart grid (direct current factory). By simulating various scenarios, photovoltaic systems, energy storage and thermal systems could be optimally coordinated. With the support of Fraunhofer IPA, the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the pre-developed energy concept could be further optimized. The simulation of different scenarios enables the systems involved to be precisely dimensioned for the factory start-up.

Fraunhofer IPA also provided the blueprint for the energy system of a new large-scale factory for the company Nokera, a manufacturer of serial timber construction. The focus here was on self-sufficiency through the thermal utilization of production residues. The result is a robust business case that decouples energy costs from volatile market fluctuations.

Recommendation for action: set the course now

Fraunhofer IPA advises companies to keep an eye on the current application deadlines for relief packages. A valid transformation concept is often the ticket to state funding. With the right planning, this compulsory exercise can be turned into a profitable investment project.

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Further links

👉 www.ipa.fraunhofer.de  

Photo: Fraunhofer IPA / Rainer Bez