IT platform for energy demand synchronization among manufacturing companies

Demand Response as a propagated solution to address the challenges of an increasingly volatile energy supply due to renewable energies requires sufficient IT solutions to synchronize manufacturing companies with energy markets. To support especially small and medium-sized enterprises in mastering this challenge, an approach for an appropriate IT infrastructure and a modular, service-oriented and secure cloud platform have been developed. Services on the platform allow for aggregation, analysis and optimization of production data as well as energy-synchronized control of production processes. In order to allow for a flexible and uniform access to energy consumption data in a landscape of heterogeneous and legacy production controls systems, a smart connector has been developed to enable a modular approach to energy and production data acquisition. Both, platform and smart connector combined allow manufacturing companies for a smart and energy-flexible production implementation.