The southwest of Berlin is renowned for its green avenues and historic residential complexes. At the same time, Free University Berlin (Freie Universität) is one of the leading academic institutions in Germany. The 33,000 students and 4,500 employees are constantly developing new ideas and create spin-offs and start-up companies. In order to advance synergies between science and business, the City of Berlin and the University began with the development of a 50,000 square meter technology & innovation park. In the immediate vicinity of the university and research facilities such as the Max Planck Institute, there will soon be space for more than 80 start-ups from the IT & biotech sector, which will create more than 1000 highly qualified jobs.

The developers demand the same excellence from the energy supply of the location. The site is to be operated carbon neutral, but the heat supply will base exclusively on electricity. That is what the Free University of Berlin (FU), the Technical University of Aachen (RWTH) and the site developer and operator WISTA are researching. Research on concepts and specifications for construction planning is going on. The project "FUBIC: All electricity for technology parks" takes place as part of a BMWi funding program for the energy-efficient city (EnEff:Stadt).

Rooftop PV-systems can generate green electricity and energy storage systems distribute the power according to the actual demand. Electricity-based heating systems such as heat pumps and infrared heaters ensure the heat supply. Heat recovery systems will also handle exhaust air. Intelligent automation systems and control technology should also reduce energy consumption as much as possible. As the space for renewable energies has its limits in city centers, the distribution system will partly supply the campus with electricity with green certificates.

The research project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy with 750.000 €, is now halfway through and ends 2020. The partners continuously implement their results in the planning and engineering process. They have to keep pace with the construction process as the inauguration is already in 2021. Thus, the results of this research will not only be available on paper, visitors will soon experience the system when entering the new innovation park.