Research project - DZSF - Balancing volatile energy generation in the railway power grid

The Eisenbahn-Bundesamt in Germany from Europe region has released this tender for The Federal Climate Protection Act (KSG), which aims to guarantee the fulfillment of national climate protection targets and legally enshrines climate protection and sectoral targets defined in the Climate Action Plan 20250, is intended to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality in Germany by 2045. Currently, railway electricity is supplied from a mixed portfolio of the company's own conventional power plants, renewable energy plants, and electricity drawn from the public grid. The strategy for increasing the share of renewable energy (RE) is based, among other things, on concluding green electricity supply contracts at both the national and European levels, as well as the expansion of RE generation facilities on railway operating sites. Since April 2023, electricity has been fed directly into the German railway power grid for the first time. Furthermore, current legislation promotes the increase in the share of RE plants through Section 18f of the General Railway Act (AEG) and Section 37 of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). The share of renewable energy in the railway power mix was already at 71.5% in 2025. The increasing expansion and fluctuating renewable energy feed-in systems, such as photovoltaic and wind power plants with their inherently variable energy supply, as well as the projected increase in rail traffic, are increasing the complexity of a secure and sustainable energy supply. High load gradients on both the generation and consumption sides, and the phasing out of conventional power plant technology to ensure grid stability in the railway power network, are raising new technical and economic challenges. In particular, the increasing number of power electronic components and their interaction within the overall rail system are increasing the complexity of the railway power network. The aim of this project is to investigate the impact of the rising share of renewable energy on the railway power network and the public grid, and to derive technical and economic requirements and measures for energy storage systems. The project aims to support a secure energy supply in the railway power grid and future demand-oriented grid planning, and to strengthen the necessary expansion of renewable energy generation facilities in the railway power grid in order to ensure the implementation of the Climate Action Plan 2050 for a greenhouse gas-neutral transport system in 2045. with tender notice no. 673911-2026 published on 06 Oct 2026. The tender is due to expire on 01 Dec 2026. This tender is sourced from TED Europa and is eligible for suppliers interested in Energy storage. Interested bidders can obtain further information including complete bid documents or ways to participate by registering on Tender Impulse and referencing via Tender Impulse ID 15265568.