April 2014
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co-operation between the Renewable Energies
experts and the Automotive specialists at EBV,
who, for example, contribute their knowledge
where automotive regulations are concerned.
The customer comes to EBV, not with a product
specification but wanting a solution for their
system. So it’s not just about the hardware, the
company also has to master the software tech-
nique and know all the regulations and standards
relevant to the application. And that is precisely
where a ’can of worms’ is metaphorically opened
up, because in some areas of renewable energy
the problem is that there are no integrated regu-
lations. For instance, in the standardisation for
short-circuits in wind power and PV, different
scenarios apply in different countries. Inmetering
it is even more complex. As regards security, in
particular, essentially nothing is definitely regu-
lated yet. It will take another five to ten years.
The BSI discussion in Germany has also stimu-
lated thinking about safety in other countries.
In other words, there may, in the future also be
new rules in other countries. They could, however,
be less strict than the BSI protection profile.
How far can the distributor assist with the
issue of security? This is a new topic for many
customers, and they definitely need support.
EBV can provide it in cooperation with third
party software service providers. As regards se-
curity EBV yet again profits from its networked
organisation. The support of the technology
segment, in this case Identification, comes
into play again in such issues. The relevant se-
curity levels are not specifications for renewable
energies, but technical guidelines or challenges
which can also be discussed elsewhere, for in-
stance, in connection with the Internet of
Things and Industry 4.0.
To tackle the issue of renewable energies
EBV has also recently launched a microsite
with the same name: under
-
ergies.ebv.com/home/ visitors can, amongst
other things, zoom from the application level
to the semiconductor section. This overview
allows a click on the relevant product to directly
access detailed information such as technical
features and logistical details. For more infor-
mation or to request advice the visitor can send
a contact request. Of course this website does
not replace personal advice, it is just an inform-
ative reference tool. The focus here is on products
for use in renewable energy applications that
have just come onto the market. There is also a
summary of manufacturers on EBV linecard,
who offer dedicated components tailored to
the market, such as a special MCU for metering
or power modules for photovoltaic.
Renewable energies with all their aspects un-
doubtedly bring with them great market po-
tential, even though the earlier European eu-
phoria about photovoltaics has long since
given way to disenchantment. On the one
hand there is growth, but on the other there is
price erosion, thus can be summarised the de-
velopment of the photovoltaic market in gen-
eral. Things are just as tough for wind energy
in Europe. In global terms there are only three
European wind power providers still in the
top ten. One of the drivers of renewable energy
is the growing degree of automation of the
smart power network. The greater the share
of renewable energy in the power network,
the more automation is required. On peak
days we, in Germany, already feed in around
50 per cent of the energy from renewable gen-
eration. At the same time the challenge is then
to keep the network stable. To handle this task
new applications will be required and metering
is a hugely promising factor. European Union
regulations are largely responsible for this, as
they ordain that by 2020 eighty per cent of
meters in member states should be smart me-
ters. The smart meters are developed in Europe
and experts also expect that the majority of
production will take place in Europe.
The alleged Eldorado of electric vehicles, how-
ever, does remain one of the options at least
for the present. We have to deal with a politi-
cally-driven segment.When the battery systems
become more affordable however, this market
could get going relatively quickly. Otherwise
we are still a long way off the planned figures
of the Federal Government of one million ve-
hicles in 2020. EBV customers are well-prepared
and have got to grips with the issue early on,
but obviously there is still no market yet.
Figure 1. Solar energy is already delivering a significant amount of renewable energy.
Figure 2. In future wind energy will contribute a large amount of renewable energy.
