18 September 2025

Erfurt, 18 September 2025: Digital tools and innovative approaches from the Thuringian joint projects ZO.RRO II KMU & ZO.RRO 2 for Glass Industry use concrete practical examples from industry to show how business and research are working together on a sustainable energy supply.

• Digital tools ready for use in demonstrator companies
• Thuringia model shows optimum ratio of solar and wind energy

High energy prices are currently one of the biggest challenges facing the Thuringian economy^[1]. The ZO.RRO joint projects support companies in realising a secure and sustainable energy supply in a cost-effective manner in order to reduce dependencies and save costs in the long term. To ensure that this does not stop at pilot projects, the researchers will present interim results together with industrial partners at the ZO.RRO II Conference - "Industry can be climate-neutral" on 18 September 2025 in Erfurt and enable valuable knowledge transfer and exchange of experience.

In his welcoming address, Thuringian Energy Minister Tilo Kummer mentions the challenges and opportunities of the transformation for Thuringian industry. His organisation is financing the ZO.RRO II SME project with 2.3 million euros.

"For Thuringia's economy, energy costs that secure its international competitiveness are vital. Energy efficiency and the direct utilisation of renewable energies and storage offer an opportunity to achieve this. We will support this challenging process with advice and funding. Many Thuringian companies have embarked on this journey and are already demonstrating how it can be done. They are achieving higher added value with energy-efficient and climate-friendly production and thus securing important jobs in the region. In dialogue with the federal government, we will continue to press for the use of locally generated electricity to be made easier without additional costs and to ensure affordability for the population and companies when restructuring the energy supply," said Energy Minister Kummer.                

One of the highlights of the event was the keynote speech by Thomas Günther, Plant Manager of Dyckerhoff GmbH in Deuna, who presented the CO₂-separation in concrete and cement production. ZO.RRO project partner Fabian Hoppe, Managing Director of HM Heizkörper GmbH Heating Technology from Eichsfeld, also provided motivation with his practical report on tackling decarbonisation in SMEs. The event focussed on networking and exchanging ideas with around 100 guests from business, science, administration and politics.

"Ilmenau University of Technology is leading the ZO.RRO 2 project with a focus on practical solutions for the energy-intensive glass industry. This interplay between research and application, which is typical of Ilmenau University of Technology, is the secret of this project's success," explains Prof. Dr rer. nat. habil. Stefan Sinzinger, Vice President of Ilmenau University of Technology for Research and Young Scientists.

As an interim result, the federal project ZO.RRO 2 for Glass Industry has produced the first successfully tested optimisation models, which enable economically and ecologically optimal operation of production with fluctuating supplies of renewable energy. Thanks to the digitalisation that has already taken place, these can be implemented at the demonstrator sites in the glass and metal processing industry in the next step.

The compact research contributions in the state project are also presented in an understandable way. "Our latest simulation of the Thuringia model with energy system modelling shows, for example, what effects the ratio of wind and solar energy expansion has on the total costs and the need for other technologies. With our research, we can thus contribute to the objectification of energy policy discourse and enable evidence-based decisions," says Prof Dr Viktor Wesselak, Vice President for Research at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and project manager of the ZO.RRO II KMU project.

In the interactive ZO.RRO Café in the afternoon, the scientists will present the digital tools and innovative approaches developed in the projects to support production companies. The tools will be demonstrated live in parallel workshops and there will be room for discussion. Exciting developments include the latest measurement technology with integrated CO₂The topics discussed include energy accounting, intelligent energy management and energy-orientated production planning with digital twins - as well as energy consulting with AI and change management in SMEs.

The exchange of expertise at today's conference will provide valuable impetus for the further research work of both joint projects. The final results will be presented at the final conference on 18 June 2026 in Erfurt.

Photo (from left to right): Prof. Dr Dirk Westermann (TU Ilmenau), Jana Liebe (ThEEN), Tilo Kummer (TMUENF), Eva-Maria Klotz (BMWE), Prof. Dr Viktor Wesselak (HS Nordhausen), Prof. Dr Stefan Sinzinger (TU Ilmenau)

Further information on the ZO.RRO projects can be found at www.zorro.energy

Press contact

Thuringian Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Nature Conservation, Tom Wetzling,

E-Mail: Tel.: 0361 57-3911930

ThEEN e.V., Maria Siegl, e-mail: Tel.: 0361 663 82 286

About ZO.RRO II SMEs - Zero Carbon Cross Energy System - Case Study Thuringia

ZO.RRO II is a Thuringian energy research project that is investigating the transformation of our energy system. Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences and the Thuringian Renewable Energy Network (ThEEN) e.V. want to demonstrate the decarbonisation of the energy supply in Thuringian industrial companies. A central tool for this is energy system modelling based on open source software. This was used to calculate transformation paths for the whole of Thuringia in a model, which represents an important scientific basis for the energy policy discussion in the state. A further development of the energy system modelling, the Z.ENO tool, is also used to calculate transformation paths for small and medium-sized Thuringian production companies (SMEs), taking various sectors into account. ZO.RRO II is funded by the Thuringian Ministry for the Environment, Energy, Nature Conservation and Forestry from 1 January 2022 to 1 July 2026.

About ZO.RRO 2 - Zero Carbon Cross Energy System for Glass Industry

The example of the glass industry shows that a consideration of individual measures cannot exploit the full potential in terms of energy efficiency and decarbonisation of the industry and must extend across the fields of action: Transformation of core processes, transformation of sector-coupling secondary processes, adaptation of electrical distribution networks and optimised energy provision and energy services. The aim of the ZO.RRO 2 project is therefore to use the example of the Thuringian glass industry to show how a highly available, sustainable and economical electrical energy supply can be realised. The project is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy for the period from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2026 (funding reference 03EI4073A-F).

[1] Source IHK 2025 - Economic Report IHK District Erfurt, Link: https://www.ihk.de/erfurt/service/konjunktur-und-statistik/konjunkturumfragen-und-analysen/konjunkturentwicklung-im-ihk-bezirk-erfurt-5016762