13. March 2025 | Press releases:

The city of Braunschweig launches an innovative energy transition project Close cooperation between TU Braunschweig, the city and regional companies

The “Connect2Transform” (C2T) research project was officially launched on 11 March 2025 with a major kick-off event held at the SIZ-energieplus. The Lord Mayor, Dr Thorsten Kornblum, together with the project partners, opened the ambitious project that will drive the transformation of heating and cooling in urban areas. The project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection with around 3.4 million euros, will turn Braunschweig’s railway city into a real-life laboratory for energy system transformation over the next three years.

Dr Stefan Plesser and Thomas Wilken from SIZ energieplus at TU Braunschweig welcomed the guests and presented the main features of the innovative project before handing over to Lord Mayor Dr Kornblum.

“Braunschweig has set itself ambitious climate protection targets. Energy-efficient buildings and an efficient energy supply are key elements. The Connect2Transform research project provides us with optimal support from innovative manufacturers and leading research institutions to achieve our goals,” said Dr Kornblum in his opening speech. “I am particularly pleased that C2T is also involving citizens and companies in Braunschweig’s Bahnstadt district and offering concrete opportunities for participation. Climate protection is teamwork – in Braunschweig, we are showing how it can be achieved in a technologically innovative, economically successful and sustainable way.”

In his welcoming address, Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafczyk, Vice-President of TU Braunschweig, emphasised the importance of interdisciplinary research for energy system transformation and highlighted the close cooperation between TU Braunschweig, the regional economy and the city as a key success factor for the Energy System Transformation project.

The SIZ energieplus team then presented the specific objectives and structure of the project in detail. With its multi-dimensional approach, C2T takes an innovative path towards the decarbonisation of urban areas. The project considers different levels simultaneously – from individual technical components to city-wide infrastructure, from individual buildings to entire neighbourhoods, and from what can be implemented immediately to long-term visions for 2045 and beyond.

A particular focus of the C2T project is on the integration of innovative technologies such as large-scale heat pumps, hydrogen technologies and an intelligent digital control and communication platform. As part of the project, the company synavision is developing software demonstrators for intelligent management at the building and network level and for the integration of buildings and users.

The Bahnstadt district of Braunschweig, which covers an area of around 300 hectares, offers ideal conditions as a real-world laboratory. The site encompasses a particularly diverse range of urban infrastructures and represents very different stages of urban development. Special emphasis will be placed on the integration of citizens, who will be actively involved in the project from the second half of 2025 through various participation formats such as a BAHNSTADT showroom, digital participation opportunities and regular neighbourhood workshops.

The city of Braunschweig will support the research consortium by providing data, assisting with construction and land-use planning, and actively communicating the project to citizens, experts and affected industries.

The C2T project is supported by a broad consortium, including SIZ energieplus as coordinator, several institutes of TU Braunschweig, the Institute for Software Engineering of RWTH Aachen, the City of Braunschweig, BS|Energy, synavision GmbH, CUBOS GmbH, MBS GmbH and Ochsner Process Energy Systems GmbH.

Aims of C2T:

  • Focus FastTrack:Development of a digital platform for the integration of different technologies, deployment of innovative efficiency products by 2027, digital networking and evaluation
  • Focus LongTrail: Development of a long-term energy supply concept for Bahnstadt, simulative demonstration of innovative heating and cooling supply in a real laboratory, concrete preparation for implementation from 2028,
  • creation of transferable solutions for other cities

Project data:

The project “Connect2Transform (C2T) – The BAHNSTADT Braunschweig as a Demonstrator for the Modular Transformation of Heating and Cooling Supply” started in February 2025 and is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) with €3.4 million. The initial three-year concept phase of the project is part of the BMWi’s 7th Energy Research Programme. It is funded under the call “Climate Neutral Heating and Cooling”.

C2T is coordinated by the Steinbeis Innovation Centre energieplus, an affiliated institute of TU Braunschweig with about 30 scientific employees. Its research focuses on energy and quality management and the design of supply systems. The institute continues the successful work of the Institute for Building and Solar Technology and contributes extensive experience from numerous research projects.