IQIB goes School
We support the Solarcamp project at Calvarienberg secondary school and grammar school in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler.
We support the Solarcamp project at Calvarienberg secondary school and grammar school in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler.
Science meets practice – shaping the energy transition in the schoolyard: 25 students built an e-bike charging station in their schoolyard during the one-week project “Solarcamp goes school”. Under expert guidance, they constructed a wooden bicycle shelter, screwed on photovoltaic modules, and connected an energy storage unit.
And how can an entire region be supplied with renewable energy? The students were able to try this out for themselves using our interactive model cube “SmartEnergyCity” in the physics classroom. Under the guidance of Dr. Bert Droste-Franke, Head of “System Evaluation & Societal Future Viability,” and Tanja Nietgen, research associate, the students switched wind turbines, photovoltaic modules, and electric cars on and off to test their effects on the power supply. The students also simulated stress scenarios such as the complete failure of wind or solar power and the impact on critical infrastructure like hospitals. The power supply becomes particularly robust when private-owned photovoltaic micro-plants are combined to form a virtual power plant, Droste-Franke explained.
In the physics room: learning with the "SmartEnergyCity" model cube. Dr Bert Droste-Franke explains the model of a virtual power plant
IQIB
Reaching the goal together: Pupils working on the e-bike charging station in the schoolyard.
Josef Peuker
Josef Peuker
Josef Peuker
Josef Peuker
What works in the model will be implemented in practice as part of our new research project EnergieregionPlus (funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy – BMWE) using the district of Ahrweiler as an example.
„Following the 2021 flood disaster, the power supply in the district of Ahrweiler was destroyed for, in some cases, several days. This experience had a profound impact on the local population. There is a great deal of interest in a more resilient energy supply.“
Dr. Bert Droste-Franke, IQIB
School principals Dr. Annette Gies and Christian Zimbelmann organised the project week with the support of teachers Jonas Winnen and Jean Jacques Jassoy, as well as the companies EnergieGewinn (solar) and Holzbau Hanisch.
The “Solarcamp goes school” format is part of the “Solarcamp for Future” initiative.