Industrial case study

Tool used:
Sectoral scope:
  • Biomass,
  • Buildings,
  • Carbon Dioxide (CO2),
  • Electricity,
  • Fuel Liquids,
  • Hydrogen,
  • Industry,
  • Transport
Geographical scope:
  • Belgium,
  • Extended European area,
  • Netherlands

Context

In the context of the European energy transition, the industrial sector and regions with dense clusters of industrial activities face particular challenges. The supply of renewable and circular feedstock, the availability of electricity, gas, hydrogen and CO2 infrastructure, and competition for scarce resources are critical issues for the industrial transition. Interactions, and at times competition, with other sectors and regions influence the strategic investments in reducing industrial emissions. In some regions, more detailed analysis is required to identify pathways for the industrial sector, without losing sight of the European energy system context.

 

This case study aims to provide a more accurate view of the constraints facing the industrial sector, while maintaining a link with the rest of the energy system. The flexible geographical and temporal resolution will allow us to build scenarios with additional detail in critical areas, without sacrificing accuracy or creating excessive computational complexity. The scenarios and pathways for the industrial sector in North-West Europe can be compared with the results from the Pan-European case study, to identify areas for additional policy and modelling attention.

Scope

  • Geographical resolution: EU27 + UK, Norway and Switzerland (PECD*). The Netherlands and Belgium are modelled in more detail, and the resolution is based on the major industrial clusters and demand centers.
  • Sector resolution: Electricity, Methane, Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide, Biomass, Methanol, Fuel Liquids, Transport, Industry and Buildings.
  • Temporal resolution: Pathways from 2030 to 2050, analyzing 2030, 2040 and 2050 in the same model. Flexible temporal resolution to be included (hourly resolution in Netherlands & Belgium) and lower temporal resolution in the rest of Europe, allowing focus on a specific region without compromising the integration in the European system, and while keeping computational requirements manageable (with Spine Opt)

 

*The Pan-European Climate Database provides historical and projected climate and energy data across Europe, including renewable generation potential and electricity demand, supporting energy system modeling, planning, and resilience analysis.