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Energy architecture for metalworking & foundries

Foundries and metalworking plants are among the most energy-intensive sites in industry. Induction and arc furnaces produce short, hard peaks on top of a high base load in multi-shift operation — precisely the combination in which badly sized energy infrastructure costs millions over 15+ years. EXAIOS works out the most profitable architecture for exactly this load profile, before capital is committed.

The typical load profile

High, steady base load from furnaces, compressors and hall systems, overlaid by sharp power peaks when a melt starts. The demand charge (EUR/kW) and atypical grid usage often dominate electricity cost more than the energy price (ct/kWh). Optimising the energy price alone leaves the biggest lever untouched.

The architecture question

Does a battery pay off primarily for peak shaving — or additionally for arbitrage and balancing services (multi-use)? How large must PV be to maximise self-consumption without exceeding the grid connection? Do the connection or the transformer bind the sizing? These dimensions multiply; they cannot be optimised one at a time.

What EXAIOS computes

EXAIOS couples six dimensions — generation, storage, consumption, grid connection, market and economics — into a single dominant energy architecture. Peak shaving against the demand charge, arbitrage on spot prices, balancing revenue, § 14a EnWG and atypical grid usage all enter the sizing and the cash flow together. The result is a deterministic singularity per site — reproducible and bankable.

The result

You get the figures that matter — lifecycle energy cost, IRR, NPV, DSCR and the p10 cover — plus an honest NO-GO if an expansion does not pay off. Instead of an invented example figure, you compute your real case in minutes.

Example result — your case, computed live

EXAIOS returns the decisive figures for every site:

IRRNPVDSCRp10

We publish no invented numbers. Compute your real site in minutes — the first indication is free.

Start a free indication

Frequently asked questions

Does a battery for a foundry pay off mainly through peak shaving?

Often yes — for foundries the demand charge is usually the largest cost block. But EXAIOS always tests the multi-use case (peak shaving + arbitrage + balancing) against it, because only the combination delivers the highest return.

How does EXAIOS treat the grid connection and the transformer?

Connection and transformer capacity are hard constraints on the sizing. EXAIOS checks whether they bind the architecture and prices in the cost of reinforcement — including which cap (feed-in, off-take, transformer) is actually the limiting one.

Will I get a figure my bank accepts?

Yes. Every recommendation is deterministic, reproducible and backed by DSCR, p10 and the do-nothing comparison — exactly the view lenders ask for.