Press release —
BACHMANN participates in EU research project Shift2DC on the future of direct current power supply
BACHMANN is actively involved in the EU project Shift2DC, which is funded with approximately €11 million and aims to advance the use of direct current (DC) as the foundation for more efficient and sustainable energy infrastructures.
The Shift2DC project is funded under the EU research program Horizon Europe under grant agreement no. 101136131. The project runs for 42 months, from December 2023 to May 2027. The international consortium is coordinated by the Portuguese research and development institute INESC ID in Lisbon.
Direct current as a key technology
While power grids have historically been based primarily on alternating current (AC), many modern applications—including data centers, industrial systems, charging infrastructures, and renewable energy sources—internally use direct current. The required conversions between AC and DC result in energy losses and additional system complexity. Shift2DC addresses this challenge with a cross-application approach to medium- and low-voltage DC grids (MVDC/LVDC). The goal is to increase system efficiency by reducing conversion stages while simplifying the integration of renewable energy and storage systems. Under suitable conditions, this can reduce conversion and distribution losses and lower operating costs.
European consortium with strong industrial and research expertise
The Shift2DC project brings together 21 partners and 6 associated partners from 13 European countries. The consortium includes industrial companies, research institutions, grid operators, and organizations from the fields of standardization and the energy sector. Together, they aim to develop, test, validate, and pave the way for the large-scale market deployment of DC technologies.
Within BACHMANN, the project is led by the Innovation Markets team and supported by the technological expertise of product development. In doing so, BACHMANN contributes its extensive experience in power distribution and system integration for IT infrastructures to the research project.
Practical validation in four European demonstrators
A central element of Shift2DC is the validation of developed solutions under real-world conditions. For this purpose, four demonstrators will be established in Germany, France, and Portugal, covering applications in data centers, industry, buildings, and ports.
At BACHMANN’s headquarters in Stuttgart, a data center demonstrator is being developed, where two separate supply areas are operated via a shared DC distribution network. In this environment, efficiency, operational reliability, scalability, and economic viability of DC solutions for data centers will be comprehensively analyzed.
Focus on sustainability, economic viability, and user value
In addition to technological development, Shift2DC places strong emphasis on lifecycle analyses, cost-benefit assessments, and environmental impact evaluations. The objective is to develop DC solutions that are not only technically feasible but also economically viable and environmentally sustainable.
Furthermore, user-friendly software tools are being developed within the project, enabling planners, engineers, and decision-makers to design, simulate, and evaluate DC systems. These tools are intended to support the systematic assessment of various application and operational scenarios and improve comparability of DC solutions.
“Data centers are among the most energy-intensive infrastructures of our time, while at the same time being at the heart of digital transformation. With our clear focus on data center solutions, BACHMANN sees a particular responsibility to actively contribute to future-proof, efficient, and sustainable energy supply concepts. Shift2DC gives us the opportunity to contribute our technological expertise and, together with European partners, drive the practical adoption of direct current solutions in industry,” adds Daniel Stuckert, Head of Global Marketing & Product Management of the Bachmann Group.
BACHMANN shaping the energy infrastructure of tomorrow
By participating in Shift2DC, BACHMANN strengthens its strategic commitment to innovative and sustainable energy and digitalization solutions. The close integration of research, practical validation, and market-oriented development enables the company to actively contribute to shaping the future European energy infrastructure and to make a tangible contribution to the European Union’s energy and climate policy.
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As a third-generation family business, we at BACHMANN have been shaping electrotechnical solutions since 1947—solutions that go far beyond mere technology. We develop systems that supply people with energy and make collaboration more intuitive.
Our portfolio ranges from power distribution units and modular desk connection panels to electrotechnical components, holistic system environments, and smart AV technology. Always with the ambition to not only supply spaces with electricity but to shape them functionally and aesthetically. That’s why we make an impact wherever the future is being created: in modern workspaces, on construction sites and in workshops, in data centers, and at home.
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