On December 6, 2016, Rainer Baake delivered government grants to the model regions participating in the German government’s development program SINTEG. "The five model regions do more than just give us a look into the future of power supply. One could also say that we are configuring the energy transition one step beyond this one," states the State Secretary for Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).

BMWi plans to grant 200 million euros in funding to the "shop window" regions by 2020. Some 200 participating companies are planning to invest an additional 500 million euros. The purpose of the program “Shop Window for Intelligent Energy – A Digital Agenda for the Energy Transition” (SINTEG) is to develop blueprints to broadly implement intelligent integration solutions for intermittent renewable energy sources. This is an important contribution to digitalizing the transition to renewables.

The majority of companies that are participating in SINTEG are also exhibiting at HANNOVER MESSE, including Siemens, SAP, DLR, BMW, Schneider, Enercon, and Nexans. The five projects will be featured at the Integrated Energy Plaza forum in Hall 27.

The multimedia program on stage at the Integrated Energy Plaza has been put together by industry associations such as VDMA, ZVEI, bne, bdew, GTAI and dena. Solutions, opportunities and the potential inherent in the transition to renewables will be discussed at the Plaza. Visitors can learn which solutions already exist in Germany and around the world, which projects have been realized, the subject of cutting edge research, and where this journey into the future will take us.

The Kopernikus projects sponsored by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research ( BMBF ) are also a part of the forum lineup. The focus of this initiative is on grid structures, storage of excess current, industrial processes, and system integration. “ENSURE – New Energy Grid Structures for the Energy Transition” is one of the four Kopernikus consortia that has been sponsored by (BMBF) since 2016. Participants include RWTH Aachen, the utility company E.ON, the grid operator TenneT TSO, the technology corporations Siemens and ABB, as well as 15 other partners. The leader of the consortium is the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) which is featuring Kopernikus projects at its stand in Hall 27 (Stand H51) at Energy.