The Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) – the German Energy Agency – has nominated 14 innovative concepts for reducing companies’ energy consumption and climate-relevant emissions for the Energy Efficiency Award 2018. Four of the candidates will receive the international award on 26 November 2018 at the dena Energy Transition Congress in Berlin. The award, which is under the patronage of the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Peter Altmaier, offers prize money totalling 30,000 euros.

‘Energy efficiency is a major concern for industry in Germany, and the 72 competition entries from Germany reflect this. And with 32 applicants from abroad, once again there’s also a large international presence this year,’ says Andreas Kuhlmann, dena's Chief Executive. ‘This variety gives companies a chance to learn about energy efficiency from one another – an important criterion for our competition.’

The Energy Efficiency Award 2018 is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and supported by premium partners Danfoss and KfW.

Nominations for energy efficiency projects already up and running

The competition jury assessed the entries according to five criteria: energy saving, relevance to climate protection, cost-effectiveness, level of innovation and transferability to other companies. Other important factors were the need to maintain equal opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the relevance of the projects to the corresponding competition categories.

The companies nominated for the Energy transition 2.0 category have undertaken projects that produce additional positive effects on the energy system, besides increasing energy efficiency:

• Aurubis AG, for using industrial waste heat, from both their own company and external sources, to heat the HafenCity in Hamburg, Germany;

• Gertrudenstift Evangelical Lutheran Association e. V. for increasing their energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources in a sustainable, holistic concept (Hessen, Germany);

• Hettich Holding GmbH & Co. OHG for their construction of a new, low-energy industrial building with energy-efficient cooling and air conditioning systems, control of building technology, use of waste heat from production facilities and use of a photovoltaic installation (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany);

• Biberach University of Applied Sciences for providing university students and staff with electric scooters and bicycles (Baden-Württemberg, Germany).

Nominees for the category Energy efficiency: from clever to digital had undertaken projects ranging from traditional energy efficiency measures to digital solutions:

• CABB GmbH for exploiting the waste heat available from condensation to heat melt accumulators (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany);

• Fraport AG and MeteoViva GmbH for collaborating on the digital simulation and subsequent implementation of a climate-optimised building automation system (Hessen, Germany);

• Tellkampf School country retreat for their energy-efficient refurbishment of a sports hall (Lower Saxony, Germany);

• Volkswagen Poznań Sp. z o.o. for recovering heat from compressors and using waste heat to heat the city of Poznań (Poland).

The companies included under Energy services and energy management were nominated for projects implemented through energy management or a service provider (both company and service provider can apply):

• Königsee Implantate GmbH for combining an energy management system with a wide variety of separate initiatives in the areas of heat and power (Thüringen, Germany);

• Smart Joules Pvt. Ltd. and St. Stephen‘s Hospital for their energy efficiency measures focused on energy-efficient room cooling in a hospital (India);

• synavision GmbH and the University Hospital of Düsseldorf for optimising the energy efficiency of the control and feedback control systems of the building technology at the Centre for Liver and Infection of the University Hospital of Düsseldorf (North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany).

Three nominations for the audience award

For the second time in succession, the Energy Efficiency Award is also awarding a prize to concepts for increasing energy efficiency. For this category, the jury has nominated:

• Vogler Engineering for thermal exploitation of surface water to heat buildings in winter and cool them in summer (Brandenburg, Germany);

• MVV Umwelt Asset GmbH for producing district heat for Merseburg from waste heat generated by the flue gas purification of the thermal facilities for non-recyclable waste treatment and energy production (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany);

• Administration of the City of Zhovkva for an energy-efficient residential district in Ukraine.

The three companies and their projects will compete for the dena Audience Award with a live presentation at the dena Energy Transition Congress.

dena has been presenting the Energy Efficiency Awards since 2007 as part of its 'Initiative EnergieEffizienz' (Energy Efficiency Campaign).

More information about the awards ceremony at the dena Energy Transition Congress.

Complete information on the competition Energy Efficiency Award