Techno-economic Systems Analysis (IEK-3)

The technical work of the Infrastructures and Sector Coupling group seeks to answer questions relating to the design and operation of future integrated energy infrastructures spanning the transportation to the distribution levels. In addition to the established energy sources of electricity and natural gas, the researchers are also looking into heat and hydrogen. Methodologically, the team has at its disposal integrated, techno-economic models for cross-energy carrier infrastructure design on the one hand, and detailed models for the optimization and simulation of transmission, gas transmission, and distribution networks, on the other. These models draw on a highly spatially- and temporally-resolved database that also permits consideration of cross-sectoral synergy options. The interplay of integrated network planning and the detailed analysis of individual energy infrastructures allows the extraction of practice-relevant insights into a suitable infrastructure for transport requirements in the sustainable energy system of the future.

In order to achieve a greenhouse gas-neutral global energy system, the newly-founded Energy Potentials and Supply Pathways team addresses the worldwide expansion of renewable energy technologies and exchange of their output, as well as their downstream products, such as green hydrogen. For this purpose, both newly-developed and existing techno-economic system models are employed that enable, among other things, the comparison of different process chains and their combinations, as well as import options for Germany and Europe. The analyses focus on energy and material supply security under socio-technical framework conditions, and therefore aim at a robust evaluation of the investigated supply pathways as decision support for political and economic actors.

The Transport Engineering and Future Mobility team focuses on issues relating to the development of passenger and freight transport. For this purpose, model-based analyses are generally applied to the transport sector, such as on the basis of traffic statistics data and energy balance correlations, with a broad spectrum of possible developments up to the year 2050 and beyond examined in the form of scenarios. The objectives of a significant reduction in environmental impacts and current trends such as electric transportation, autonomous and connected driving, and shared mobility are taken into account. The parameterization of the specifically-developed models is supported by in-depth analyses of the decision-making behavior of mobile persons. The analyses, which are highly spatially- and temporally-resolved, will serve to inform implementation strategies for a greenhouse gas-free, future-oriented transport sector on a regional to European scale.