Integrating variable renewable electricity supply into manufacturing systems

Expanding renewable energy (RE) generation has been increasingly recognized as a central strategy for climate change mitigation. A substantial share of renewable energy generation comes from variable renewable energy sources (e.g. wind and solar), which are increasingly installed in decentralized structures. As such, integrating decentralized, variable RE generation into existing supply and demand structures is required to successfully further increase their share. Several different approaches and technologies are available for overcoming intertemporal and spatial demand and supply mismatches. Among them are conventional energy storage technologies as well as implicit energy storage options such as embodied energy in products, enabled through load shifting of energy-flexible production and manufacturing systems. This contribution begins with an overview of current challenges toward RE integration, followed by a discussion of available large-scale grid integration measures. Within the following, a focus is set on options for integrating decentralized variable RE. A promising approach is storing embodied energy in products. Its enabling method, energy flexibility of manufacturing systems, is detailed. A method to improve energy flexibility is discussed and its potential application demonstrated in a case study.