immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Luft-undRaumfahrt

  • Determining solar energy potential from space

    Determining solar energy potential from space

    The question of which roofs are suitable for solar installations and what output can be achieved there is answered by the new solar atlas from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt – DLR). This map, which was presented at the ILA 2024 in Berlin, uses current aerial images and basic geodata, processed using machine learning methods. This made it possible to determine the solar energy potential for around 20 million buildings in cities such as Berlin, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Hamburg. The results are publicly available at eosolar.dlr.de.

    Technology meets sustainability
    Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, Chairwoman of the DLR Executive Board, emphasizes the importance of the Solar Atlas for the energy transition: “In order to develop and implement effective strategies and instruments for the expansion of rooftop solar installations, decision-makers need precise information on the current stock and expansion potential. The satellite-based information provided by DLR supports the energy transition and becomes a driver for innovative products and business models.” The Solar Atlas shows how successfully earth observation can be used for climate protection and the sustainable expansion of energy generation.

    Data evaluation and methodology
    In the EO Solar project, scientists at the DLR Earth Observation Center are combining several terabytes of data. This includes digital, distortion-free aerial images with a resolution of 20 centimetres and high-resolution surface models provided by the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy. “In order to describe the current expansion potential for solar energy, we calculate the possible electrical output based on the hours of sunshine, the radiation intensity, the orientation of the roof surfaces and the shading from neighboring buildings or vegetation,” explains Annekatrin Metz-Marconcini, head of the EO Solar project.

    Artificial intelligence and practical applications
    DLR has developed a process that uses artificial intelligence to identify roofs with installed solar panels worldwide from high-resolution remote sensing data. In Germany, the market master data register, which records all registered solar installations on a daily basis, is also included. This method uses digital surface models of the terrain, which automatically takes into account shading from trees and the surrounding terrain. This means that even countries without detailed building models can calculate their solar energy potential and include it in their planning.

    Support for political decision-makers
    In contrast to existing solar atlases of federal states, districts or municipalities, the DLR Solar Atlas systematically maps the entire country in an up-to-date manner. This provides political decision-makers and planners with a sound basis for promoting the expansion of solar installations in a targeted manner. A similar map has already been created for Austria as part of an ESA project. For data protection reasons, solar expansion in Germany is shown at municipal, district or federal state level.

    Forward-looking energy planning
    With the new solar atlas, DLR is creating a valuable resource for the planning and implementation of sustainable energy projects. It enables a precise assessment of solar energy potential and thus supports the transition to a climate-friendly energy supply.

  • Wingtra has new distributor in Taiwan

    Wingtra has new distributor in Taiwan

    Wingtra continues to expand: as the Zurich-based manufacturer of mapping drones announces, it can now also tap into the market potential in Taiwan with its new distribution partner Century Instruments. Based in Taichung City, Taiwan, the company has been focusing on its country’s surveying market for 30 years. According to a company statement, it now offers Wingtra’s drones in addition to expert advice and top-notch equipment.

    The high-precision, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones, which are easy to operate, specialise in GIS, the geographic information system for mapping technology. They were developed by the company, founded in 2016 as a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich(ETH), specifically for aerial surveying and mapping in the construction industry.

    The Wingtra drones provide consistent, high-quality survey data faster and at lower cost than other surveying tools, even for large areas and with high resolution and accuracy, Wyss Zurich says. The foundation supports Wingtra and other translational projects at ETH and the University of Zurich.

    In June and July this year, Wingtra has already announced the establishment of business relationships with two new distribution partners in Mexico and a company in Canada. One of its investors, Seattle-based venture capital firm DiamondStream Partners, had announced in March 2023, following the successful completion of a $22 million Series B financing round, that it would support Wingtra as it enters new markets on the North and South American continents.

  • NEST receives aviary for drone research

    NEST receives aviary for drone research

    A DroneHub is being set up on the NEST. As the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research(Empa) illustrates in a short video, it resembles an aviary. On a floor space of 90 square metres, a construction of metal tubes and mesh forms a cage with a height of up to eleven metres. According to an Empa release, the final construction will provide test environments for three research fields.

    For the first, 3D printing in flight, an experimental wall with interchangeable modules will be used to develop drones that fly and carry out inspection and repair work vertically. “The drones can, for example, detect and repair cracks without the need for elaborate scaffolding or endangering the safety of people,” explains Mirko Kovac, the head of Empa’s Sustainability Robotics research laboratory and director of the Aerial Robotics Lab at Imperial College London.

    The second application area, robotic environmental sensing, focuses on the interaction between drones and the environment. “You can place targeted sensors in nature and read the data with regular flights,” says Kovac. This is “very relevant” especially for energy plants such as wind turbines or dams, but also for collecting climate data in impassable and wide-open spaces.

    The third research area wants to develop rules and technological standards for the coexistence of robots and humans, for example for interfaces between buildings and flying robots. This concerns, for example, landing sites on or near buildings or the positioning of charging stations.

  • Pilatus expands in Nidwalden

    Pilatus expands in Nidwalden

    The 2022 business year was “marked by great successes” for Pilatus, the Nidwalden-based aircraft manufacturer writes in a statement. With sales of CHF 1.3 billion, an operating result of CHF 226 million and orders totalling CHF 1.6 billion, the company had one of its best years ever, it continues. “Pilatus has achieved a great deal while benefiting from exceptionally high demand for our unique aircraft,” CEO Markus Bucher is quoted as saying in the statement.

    The company is responding to the high demand by expanding capacity. Construction of a maintenance hangar is to begin in Buochs in the middle of the year, Pilatus said. In Ennetbürgen, the construction of a new building for the production of composite components is planned. The aircraft manufacturer sees the investments in Nidwalden as proof “that Pilatus is continuously committed to Switzerland as a place to think, work and train”.

    Last year Pilatus delivered 40 PC-24, 80 PC-12 NGX, 10 PC-21 and 3 PC-6 aircraft to customers. “Our PC-12 NGX and PC-24 were and are absolute bestsellers, our order books are full,” explains Chairman of the Board Hansueli Loosli.

    According to another statement, in February Pilatus handed over what is already the tenth PC-24 Super Versatile to Jetfly, the Luxembourg-based provider of parts ownership for aircraft. “Since we took delivery of the first PC-24 in our fleet in 2018, more and more customers have wanted to fly this incredibly spacious and versatile jet,” Jetfly CEO Cédric Lescop is quoted as saying there.

  • CEO leaves Flughafen Zürich AG

    CEO leaves Flughafen Zürich AG

    Flughafen Zürich AG is facing a change in its leadership: CEO Stephan Widrig is stepping down from his post at the end of April after 23 years with the company. According to a media release, he will take over as CEO of Allreal Holding AG from May 1, 2023. During his tenure at Flughafen Zürich AG, Widrig was in charge of real estate management and, as a member of the Executive Board, was responsible for all non-aviation business areas, including real estate. At Allreal, he succeeds Roger Herzog, who announced his resignation earlier in the day, according to a statement.

    “After almost 15 years on the executive board of Flughafen Zürich AG and in my ninth year as CEO, it seems sensible to me to pass on the management baton,” Widrig is quoted as saying. “The timing is favorable as all business units are in stable and competent hands, the pandemic is well overcome and the strategic focus for the next years is clear.”

    As Flughafen AG points out, the company has experienced strong growth phases under Widrig’s leadership. He said he successfully diversified the business model and led the airport “safely and economically independently through the historically unprecedented crisis in aviation caused by the Corona pandemic.”

    Chairman of the Board of Directors Andreas Schmid thanks Widrig for his “great, dedicated and long-standing commitment”. Flughafen AG now intends to initiate the process to identify a successor.

  • Swiss Life invests in development of JFK Airport

    Swiss Life invests in development of JFK Airport

    The Zurich-based life insurer Swiss Life is investing in a development project at JFK Airport in New York through its Swiss Life Asset Managers division. According to a media release , Swiss Life Asset Managers has committed itself to a minority stake in the new construction of Terminal One. Together with JLC Infrastructure and other consortium partners, a sum of 9.5 billion dollars will be provided.

    An approximately 223,000 square meter "ultramodern" terminal is to be built. It represents an "infrastructure investment with attractive long-term growth potential and fits very well with our fund's investment strategy," said Sinisha Ponzio, Head of Value Add Infrastructure at Swiss Life Asset Managers.

    The new investment represents the third investment in the aviation sector for Swiss Life Asset Managers. The insurer sees this as "a vote of confidence in the future of modern aviation". Swiss Life Asset Managers does not expect the aviation industry to slow down. In this context, the airlines' improved capacity utilization, new aircraft orders, technological progress and the construction of modern airport facilities are highlighted.

  • Researchers mix concrete on the ISS

    Researchers mix concrete on the ISS

    Experiments on the ISS (International Space Station) should help to better understand the hardening of concrete under conditions of weightlessness. Ultimately, they could help to develop more environmentally friendly compositions of the material without detracting from its positive properties. This is a joint project of the BIOTESC competence center at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hergiswil, the German Aerospace Center , the University of Duisburg-Essen and the University of Cologne .

    BIOTESC works on behalf of the European Space Agency ESA . This so-called User Support and Operations Center is one of four such centers at ESA. It supports researchers in conducting experiments in the infrastructure of the ISS.

    The research design for the experiments on the ISS also comes from Hergiswil. The 64 small test containers prepared there, each with different mixtures and injectable liquid, were tested, filled and packaged by the BIOTESC. Since there are plans for permanent presences on the Moon and Mars, some of them also contain moon dust, according to a press release from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The BIOTESC containers were checked for space standards at the ESA logistics center in Turin. Then they were flown to Cape Canavaral, from where they were rocketed to the ISS.

    The experiment was conducted on February 1st. The concrete samples will not return to Earth until the next flight in July. In the meantime, the containers developed by the BIOTESC have already been patented in Germany. According to BIOTESC research group leader Dr. Bernd Rattenbacher: “All material that has a solid and a liquid component can be mixed in it.”