“Thanks to IoTnova, we were able to establish digital grid monitoring, prepare our infrastructure for §14a-compliant load management, and thereby lay the foundation for a future-proof and secure energy supply in the low-voltage distribution grid.”
As part of the digitalization of electricity distribution grids, Regionetz launched a forward-looking project: the digitalization and monitoring of low-voltage grid substations. The objective was to create a digital twin of the low-voltage grid in order to make grid loading visible in real time and to enable early intervention in the event of overloads—particularly in the context of the statutory requirements under Section 14a of the German Energy Industry Act (Energiewirtschaftsgesetz, EnWG).
The key challenge was to build a complete IoT infrastructure—from selecting suitable protocols to integrating scalable data processing and visualization. Regionetz was supported in this initiative by the digitalization specialist it-novum.
Project Kick-off and Approach
The project started with a two-day IoT workshop with it-novum, during which requirements and use cases were jointly defined. Due to a lack of in-house experience with IoT technologies, Regionetz decided to begin with a proof of concept (PoC).
The PoC, which ran for over a year, was used to test and evaluate system components, communication protocols, and the visualization platform. The positive results led to the PoC approach subsequently being transferred into the production environment.
Technical Solution Architecture
Sensors and Data Flow
- The grid substations were equipped with sensors to capture condition data such as voltages, currents, and temperatures.
- The data is transmitted via the MQTT protocol to the HiveMQ broker, which ensures secure and scalable data transport.
- Integrating ECOS enabled the implementation of certificate management to secure the communication channels.
- A Kafka instance handles data streaming and acts as the central data hub. Via Kafka, various domain systems can be connected without requiring direct point-to-point interfaces.
- Data Processing and Visualization
- IoTnova was introduced as the central IoT platform. It enables visualization and monitoring of incoming sensor data.
- Users can flexibly design dashboards themselves, identify error sources such as wiring faults more quickly, and continuously monitor data quality.
- The data is forwarded to downstream systems that are responsible, for example, for implementing the §14a functionalities or for the grid’s digital twin.
Project Scope and Support Provided by it-novum
it-novum supported Regionetz across several key project components:
Introduction of the IoT platform IoTnova: Consulting, installation, and user training to enable independent use and visualization of sensor data.
Design and implementation of the IoT architecture: Selection and integration of suitable technologies and communication protocols (e.g., MQTT) to ensure secure and scalable data transmission.
Integration of an MQTT broker (HiveMQ): Technical design and implementation of secure data transmission in collaboration with the partner company ECOS—particularly to integrate professional certificate management.
Challenges and Key Learnings
Over the course of the project, several challenges emerged, which were successfully addressed together with it-novum:
- Building internal expertise: At project start, Regionetz had no experience with IoT technologies. Knowledge was built through training sessions, workshops, and close collaboration with it-novum.
- Establishing the infrastructure: Prior to the project, no IoT infrastructure was in place. With it-novum’s support, the required components were set up quickly and smoothly.
- Collaboration with external device manufacturers: Especially during the integration of thermal system manufacturers, it became clear that there was still limited experience with IIoT communication protocols on their side as well. Several iterations were required to establish suitable solutions for data communication.
Go-Live and Next Steps
Following the successful completion of the PoC, the solution was put into production. Further measures are already being planned:
- Deployment of a second HiveMQ instance to increase availability through geo-redundancy.
- Expansion of user training for IoTnova to further embed the new way of working within the organization.
- Scaling the rollout of sensor equipment to additional substations to continuously extend the digital twin.
Benefits and Value of the Solution
Regionetz benefits from IoTnova in multiple ways:
- Transparency and early-warning capabilities: Grid loading can be detected early and countermeasures initiated.
- Increased operational reliability: Proactive fault detection through analysis of sensor data.
- Flexibility and independence: With Kafka as a central data hub, fixed point-to-point interfaces are not required—new systems can be connected easily.
- High usability: IoTnova enables fast, tailored data visualization
by the specialist departments themselves. - Future-proofing: The architecture is scalable and compliant with the statutory requirements of §14a EnWG.
Conclusion and Collaboration
The project demonstrated how a focused PoC approach and strong partner support can be used to build a complex IoT infrastructure even without prior experience. “Working with it-novum was consistently solution-oriented, efficient, and collaborative—simply pleasant all around,” says Alexander Schölgens, describing the process.
The defined objectives—establishing digital grid monitoring and preparing for §14a-compliant load management—were achieved. The solution provides the foundation for a future-ready and secure energy supply in the low-voltage distribution grid.
What is IoTnova?
IoTnova is a high-performance IoT platform that helps organizations efficiently capture, process, and analyze data. Built on open-source technologies, it offers a flexible architecture to implement IoT projects of any scale securely and with full scalability.
The benefits of IoTnova
- Alerting: Intelligent alerting and process automation
- Analytics: Self-service analytics and AI support for end users
Dashboards & Reporting: Operational and tactical insights across business processes and organizational units - Data Converter: Maximum flexibility in transforming inbound and outbound data
- Device Management: Centralized management of IoT devices and assets
- Security: Comprehensive permission models and data governance features
Text taken over from the original and translated – it-novum
