New approaches to drainage in coastal regions ForeCoast: Joint project develops smart water and energy management system

The protection of settlements, transport routes and agricultural land in coastal regions depends largely on functioning drainage systems, such as sluices and pumping stations. However, climate change, rising energy prices and industrial water demand are posing growing challenges to existing water management. As part of the ‘ForeCoast’ collaborative project, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Jade University of Applied Sciences in Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth, the company NAECO Blue and the Dithmarschen Dyke and Main Sluice Association are jointly developing a smart water and energy management system that combines flood protection, energy efficiency and security of supply. The project is receiving funding of around 1.5 million euros from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

At the heart of the project is the development of an innovative control model for pumping stations and sluices, which, as coastal outfall structures, ensure the drainage of the area behind the dykes. This model integrates hydrometeorological forecasts – which link weather data to the water cycle – with projections of water demand, as well as information on the availability of renewable energy, electricity prices and grid conditions. The aim is to achieve a proactive, data-driven control system for drainage operations that takes both ecological and economic requirements into account. “We want to derive concrete, actionable decisions for the operation of pumping stations from complex data – in real time and across various planning horizons,” says project leader Professor Kai Schröter from the Leichtweiß Institute for Hydraulic Engineering at TU Braunschweig.

Sluices and pumping stations ensure the drainage of coastal lowlands

Around 12,000 square kilometres of land along the German North Sea coast lie below 2.5 metres above mean sea level. These lowlands are of enormous importance to the economy, industry and agriculture. At the same time, they are heavily reliant on a functioning drainage infrastructure. In Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein alone, more than 860 sluices and pumping stations ensure the drainage of these areas – with an annual energy consumption of around 80 gigawatt-hours.

Today, drainage operations rely largely on local expertise and the situational interpretation of weather and tidal forecasts. Climate change is significantly increasing the demands on management: rising sea levels, changes in tidal and storm surge dynamics, and higher inland runoff due to heavy rainfall are driving up pumping requirements and, consequently, energy consumption. At the same time, water supply from surface waters is becoming increasingly important, for example for hydrogen and battery production.

This is where ‘ForeCoast’ comes in, developing an integrated system that, for the first time, systematically links the water and energy sectors. The consortium brings together scientific modelling, expertise in energy management and practical operational experience. Together, TU Braunschweig, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth, NAECO Blue and the Dithmarschen Dyke and Main Sluice Association are laying the foundations for a system that simulates water and energy management constraints, assesses uncertainties and risks, optimises the control of drainage systems, takes storage potential and future water demand into account, and tests operation under real-world conditions.

Proactive and flexible control of the infrastructure

The system is based, amongst other things, on machine learning, process-based simulations and methods for optimisation under uncertainty. It enables proactive and flexible control of drainage operations and thus contributes to sustainable water volume management. Specifically, it supports:

the dynamic adjustment of pump running times to electricity prices and the availability of renewable energy,
the reduction of energy costs,
the stabilisation of the electricity grid through grid-supporting operation,
the maintenance of target water levels and flood protection, and
the demand-driven regional supply of water for agriculture and industry.

An integrated risk management system transparently evaluates various courses of action and provides a robust basis for decision-making for operators and authorities.

The system’s practical applicability is being demonstrated at two pilot sites: in Brunsbüttel-Süd in Schleswig-Holstein, a major industrial and hydrogen hub, and at the Knock sluice and pumping station, which serves one of the largest drainage areas in Lower Saxony.

With its innovative approach, ‘ForeCoast’ makes an important contribution to understanding the water-energy nexus – that is, the interdependencies between energy and water – in the context of climate adaptation and sustainable infrastructure development in line with Germany’s High-Tech Agenda, as well as to the implementation of the National Water Strategy.

Project details

The collaborative project is coordinated by Technische Universität Braunschweig, Leichtweiß Institute for Hydraulic Engineering (Department of Hydrology and River Basin Management). Other project partners include Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth, the company NAECO Blue, and the Dithmarschen Dyke and Main Sluice Association. It is funded with approximately 1.5 million euros over three years as part of the Water-Energy Nexus (WENex) funding initiative by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

Further information:

https://www.bundesumweltministerium.de/en/national-water-strategy

https://www.bmftr.bund.de/EN/Technology/HightechAgenda/HightechAgenda_node.html