SuSe WK

About the Project

Within the SuSe WK project Factor4Solutions will lay the foundations for closing the gap in the existing system control architecture for all electrically driven heat and cold generation based on electric heat pumps (HP) and compression refrigeration systems (CTR) with the aim of decreasing electricity needs by at least 25% in comparison to state of the art control.

For this purpose, in this R&D project, digital twins of heat pumps and cooling water plants are being developed for the first time for use on industrial controllers (PLCs) and in a modular design and are being used in a system control architecture for real-time simulation of the entire system, consisting of several heat pumps and/or cooling water plants, but also pumps, heat sources, cooling plants, etc., directly for operational management. Uniquely, all components are addressed directly by the results of the simulation. These results are based on the physical system models, setpoints are specified and the previous sequential circuit management (state of the art) is replaced. The use of modular digital twins of the components on a physical basis also allows operational deviations to be detected and, using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) methods, to be offered in predictive maintenance, but also tracking of the system to maintain operations sustainably.

The project faces several challenges to be tackled by our R&D department in each of the seven research and development work packages, especially with regards to resilient heating and cooling supplies in increasingly complex supply structures. We will tackle these challenges to provide our customers a solution with the same comfort as they know from our products for mixed driven cold generation systems.