Consolidated management report

10. Research and development

Through its involvement in various projects in the area of development and innovation activities, the Wiener Stadtwerke Group underpins its strategy of always being up to date in terms of the technologies and processes it employs. In the course of the Wiener Stadtwerke sustainability process, a research and development working group was set up which has prepared an action plan to promote activities in this area. The following research initiatives provide examples of the activities undertaken during the 2007/2008 period:

• The main focus of the work at Fernwärme Wien, as in the past, lay in reducing future reliance on energy supplies for district heating from primary energy sources, on improvements in classical district heating technology, and in the field of district cooling technology. The range of activities spans involvement in research projects, particularly in the area of district cooling, the validation of products by means of bench testing or field trials, particularly in the area of heating drinking water, as well as actual application in situ.

• The research project on-going at the K1 Competence Centre Bioenergy 2020+, in which Wien Energie Gasnetz is participating, is working on the development of a highly efficient biogas plant. Since July 2007, a project known as virtual biogas has involved the feeding into the gas network of 100m³/h of biomethane by means of gas permeation, a cleaning process based on membrane technology. An overall concept has been developed for the cleaning and preparation of the gas so as to ensure sufficiently high levels of quality. This concept also encompasses the optimisation and modification of the system of organic primary desulphurisation by means of pure oxygen. The Vienna University of Technology is coordinating this project and assisting in the implementation. In 2008, more than 300,000m³ of biomethane were fed into the network.

• Intelligent, remote control and remote reading meters are all the rage: whether in connection with issues such as energy efficiency, electric-powered vehicles, primary energy prices or energy costs, smart metering is increasingly being discussed. In several European countries, the installation of intelligent meters is already compulsory for network operators; in many others, appropriate legislation is being drafted. Wien Energie Stromnetz is currently waiting for some recognition of the investment costs before introducing these meters. Launch options are in the process of being technically and commercially evaluated.