Integrated Resource Assessment
About
A global energy system transformation towards renewable energies and hydrogen will result in a change in the use and availability of materials. The reasons for this are the increased use of critical materials in required technologies such as PV, PEM electrolysis and batteries, developments in recycling technologies and the phase-out of fossil material flows. The Integrated Resource Assessment team looks at the interactions between cost-optimal energy system transformations and resource dependency with the aim of identifying bottlenecks, critical materials and alternative solutions.
Research Topics
With the ETHOS model suite, our team has a comprehensive range of tools and models at its disposal to examine the above-mentioned research fields on the resource and energy system side. To this end, the resource requirements of various energy system technologies are examined in detail. Land use conflicts with agriculture and water are also considered as resources. Our team's expertise is based on an extensive collection of resource flows and data for parameterizing the models.
Members
RESEARCH FIELDS
In order to successfully advance the energy transition, it must be ensured that central technologies such as PV can be imported to Germany in sufficient quantities in the short and long term or produced in-house. To this end, a model is being developed that maps the global PV supply chain as well as its most important participants and the production steps on the materials side. Various metrics for centrality, resilience and coupling are used to assess the relevance of the participants in terms of robustness. Robust optimization is used to identify weak points in the supply chain and determine possible courses of action, such as diversification.
For model transformation paths for a global energy system, land use-related emissions are also taken into account. The energy and land use requirements of the global food supply are specifically considered in order to examine the interfaces between the energy and land use sectors more closely. Particular emphasis is placed on the provision of biomass as an important resource for the production of renewable energy. The future development of resource requirements in food production and its energy, fertilizer and water requirements are also examined. Another focus is on the suitability of promising technologies for using these resources more efficiently. Our work in the area of resource and land use ensures that, in addition to energy system modeling, possible environmental and scientific constraints are also taken into account in the transformation pathways. A central goal here is the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Last Modified: 06.11.2024