Use energy cleverly, effectively reduce costs
Interview with Sebastian Ritter, CEO of ifesca GmbH
The days when energy was always abundantly available at low prices are over. Especially for energy-intensive companies, comprehensive energy monitoring and management is an important prerequisite for producing as energy-efficiently as possible and reducing costs. ifesca GmbH from Ilmenau offers a digital state-of-the-art energy management system that works on the basis of precise forecasts.
The solution from ifesca includes a holistic digital energy management system with a clear dashboard across all areas as well as a forecasting module.
“With our solution, our clients can fully capture the energy status of their company,” explains Sebastian Ritter. “Subsequently, they can optimally utilize the produced energy and adjust processes to the corresponding times by predicting the generation with our forecasting module. That is why the solution is also so valuable for industrial companies that have PV systems, thermal storage, or electrically powered forklifts. They then know exactly when and where they should source energy in order to work as efficiently as possible.”
The customer base of ifesca has now become diverse. In addition to industry and energy-intensive companies, energy suppliers, network operators and also PV and wind farms that offer at the electricity exchange, rely on the solution.
"The topic has not yet fully reached medium-sized companies, but in at most two years, they will also need support here, as energy costs will never be as low again as they once were," says the managing director. Currently, ifesca is mainly focusing on the German market. However, network operators in Switzerland and France are already among the company's customers.
A holistic approach
"Our clients appreciate our holistic approach," says Sebastian Ritter. "We look at the entire company, all corporate sectors that deal with energy technology, for example, waste heat, compressed air, geothermal energy, or hydrogen. This way, we can calculate an overarching optimum. The solution is fully automatic and interconnected with all systems in the company, offering a high degree of flexibility."
ifesca is pursuing ambitious growth targets. Next year, the company plans to acquire additional key customers and achieve sales milestones. Moreover, a major release with many new features will be launched, which will be particularly interesting for the industry, including for the monitoring of greenhouse gases and their reduction.
"The EU's Green Deal requires action," says Sebastian Ritter. "We see ourselves here as enablers and want to be involved internationally in most energy-relevant processes within the next five years – through partners who use our technology. We aim to provide the nucleus for significant forecasting tasks."