Markt&Technik DC Conference
DC grids take off
October 23, 2025 in Ludwigsburg
Call for Papers Deadline: 25 May 2025
Last year, the “DC Conference: DC Grids for Industry”, powered by ODCA (Open Direct Current Alliance), took place for the first time with great success. A lot has happened since then. The ODCA is continuing to drive standardization forward and VDE SPEC 90037 V1.0 “System Discription for DC Industry” is now available. This shows that DC for industry is widely accepted.
This is why Markt&Technik is organizing the second “DC Conference - DC grids take off”, powered by ODCA, in Ludwigsburg on 23 October 2025.
Thanks to advances in semiconductor technology, it is now possible to switch to a DC supply, and not just in industrial production, even though the advantages of switching from the previous 400 V three-phase current to DC grids in the 620 to 750 V range are obvious:
- The energy costs for energy distribution in the factory are reduced by 50 percent
- The costs for the copper cables are reduced by 50 percent and the power loss is also halved.
- Complete recuperation is made possible by the braking energy of moving masses and is not converted into heat as in AC networks.
However, in addition to industrial production, DC technology is opening up numerous other highly promising fields of application in which it can also make important contributions to the energy transition:
- Data centers
- Lighting
- Building automation
- Logistics (from high-bay warehouses to conveyor belts at airports)
- Semiconductor manufacturing
- DC microgrids for distributed power
What is particularly interesting is that the energy transition is virtually calling for DC low-voltage grids, as most of these are already based on direct current from the outset - from photovoltaics to batteries and electric cars to charging stations. So why switch from DC to AC and back again unnecessarily?
However, the technology is still relatively new. The good news is that all the products required to set up a DC grid in production and in buildings have already been developed and can be purchased as standard products. At the DC Conference you will get an overview of which products will be available soon and which are already available.
The aim of the DC Conference is to discuss and answer the following questions:
- What products already exist that can be used to build a DC grid?
- Which DC applications already exist and what experiences have companies had that have set up DC networks in production?
- To what extent can planners and installers already handle the new technology?
- What is the current status of standardization?
- To what extent have the regulations been adapted to the new requirements of direct current applications?
At the conference, decision-makers and practitioners who plan DC networks will find out everything they need to know in order to implement them in their production environments.
Other topics:
- Power electronics and switches
- DC/DC converters
- Electromechanical components (connectors, cables, etc.)
- Arc detection and residual current devices
- Integration of lighting, renewable energies, charging stations, three-phase motors, etc.
- Standardization
- Regulation
Take the opportunity to actively shape the conference programme until 30.04.2025.
Milestones:
- 25 May 2025 - Deadline for submission
- End of May 2025 - Selection of abstracts and notification of speakers
- Beginning of October 2025 - Submission of final presentation
We look forward to receiving your presentation proposal!
Please have the following information ready for submission:
- Contact details and CV of the speaker
- Title and abstract (max. 2000 characters of pure text; this will be published as a short description in the online program)
- No paper is required for submission
- Length of presentation: lecture 30 min
Content management:
Heinz Arnold
Senior Editor/Stellv. Chefredakteur
Telefon: +49 (0) 89 255 56 1253
Email: harnold@componeers.net
Contact:
Alexander Reifsteck
Project Manager Events
Telefon: +49 (0) 89 25556 1610
Email: areifsteck@componeers.net