Energy Flexibility in the Casting Industry Using Bivalent Machines

Abstract

The German Federal Government aims for 100 % renewable energy-sourced electricity to transition into a low-carbon economy. Today's challenge is transitioning the system to integrate the highly fluctuating renewable wind and solar energies into the electric power system. The industrial sector can contribute to the transition by aligning electricity consumption with the supply. This has a big potential to improve the stability of the power grid. Energy and heat-intensive industries can achieve energy flexibility by changing the energy carrier during operation to adjust the required power. Hybridizing production systems with a second energy source, such as natural gas or hydrogen, is crucial for thermal processes like the magnesium die-casting. This article describes a modeling approach for the dynamic operating mode of a bivalent melting furnace. The model uses a load-related efficiency curve, which are based on the experience of furnace manufacturers and published articles. The model investigates several measures to increase energy flexibility, such as the change of energy carrier according to energy prices, die furnace and organizational arrangements. The impact of these energy flexibility potentials on energy costs is evaluated, and the measures are compared.