Energy System Modeling

Welcome to the homepage of the Energy System Modeling group of PIK!

The Energy Systems Modeling Group has recently been divided into two groups:
Global Energy Systems as well as Energy Resources and Technologies - website will be updated soon

Team

Research focus

The Energy System Modeling Group is part of PIK's Research Domain III. With the integrated energy-macroeconomic-climate model ReMIND-R we explore long-term cost-effective mitigation options in the global energy system under ambitious climate targets. The focus lies on the transformation of energy and other sectors, investment streams and distribution of mitigation costs. Particular attention is devoted to small scale techno-economic phenomena as well as issues of market structure and regulations. We analyze portfolios of mitigation options across sectors, technologies, regions and time. Current focus activities include:

• Potentials and bottlenecks of deploying renewable energy technologies
• Integration costs of renewables
• The interaction of climate change mitigation, bioenergy demand, and land use
• Decarbonization strategies in the transport sector
• ReMIND-D: An Energy-Economy Model for Germany
• Strategic interaction in electricity markets
• Trade of energy carriers
• Global, regional and national assessments of climate and energy policies
• Fossil resource assessments and the implications for climate change mitigation

Recent and current research projects

• Assessment of Mitigation Pathways and Evaluation of the Robustness of Mitigation Cost Estimates (AMPERE)
• Roadmaps towards Sustainble Energy futures (RoSE)
• Scenarios on the feasibility of emission reductions towards limiting climate change to 2°C (commissioned by the German Federal Environment Agency)
• 24th round of the Stanford Energy Modeling Forum (EMF24)
• Asian Modeling Exercise (AME): The contribution of Asia to the global mitigation challenge
• Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies: Supporting European Climate Policy (ADAM)
• Report on Energy and Climate Policies in Europe (RECIPE) - completed
• Cost effective development of renewable energies
• Hydrothermal Carbonization of biomass to coal (HTC)
• Akteurshandeln und langfristige Investitionsentscheidungen im Klimaschutz (ALICE)

The Integrated Assessment Model ReMIND-R

Short technical description

ReMIND-R combines a top-down macroeconomic growth model, a detailed bottom-up energy system model and a climate module within an integrated framework. The three models are hard-linked and thus solved simultaneously. The macroeconomic growth model of the Ramsey-type maximizes inter-temporal social welfare with perfect foresight by solving a general equilibrium problem. It takes capital, labour and various kinds of final energy carriers as input of a nested CES production function to produce an aggregate economic good, which can be reinvested into capital and energy or used for consumption. The energy system model represents the energy sector on a detailed level of various conversion technologies along the path from primary to final energy production. Each technology is characterized by a set of techno-economic parameters like investment cost, efficiency or depreciation rate. Technological change is represented endogenously by means of learning curves for different technologies. The model distinguishes between 11 economic world regions, which are linked by global markets for emission permits, goods and several resources. The time horizon of optimization reaches from 2005 to 2100 with a resolution of 5 years.

• A more detailed description can be found here.

• A documentation of ReMIND can be found here.

Publications

• Bauer, N., Edenhofer, O., Kypreos S. (2008) Linking energy system and macroeconomic growth models. Journal of Computational Management Science (Special Issue), 5, 95 -117.
• Bauer, N., Edenhofer, O. , Leimbach, M. (2009): Low-Stabilization Scenarios and technologies for Carbon Capture and Sequestration.Energy Procedia 1, 4031-38.

• Edenhofer, O., Knopf, B., Leimbach, M., Bauer, N. (2009) The Economics of Low Stabilisation, Special Issue of the Energy Journal, to be published in fall 2009.
• Edenhofer, O., et al. (2009) The economics of low stabilization: Model comparison of mitigation strategies and costs. In Special Issue of the Energy Journal, to be published in fall 2009.
• Knopf, B., et al. Edenhofer, O., Flachsland, C., Kok, M.T.J, Lotze-Campen, H., Luderer, G., Popp, A., van Vuuren, D. P. (2009) Managing the low-carbon transition –from model results to policies. In Special Issue of the Energy Journal, to be published in fall 2009.
• Knopf, B., et al. (2009) The economics of low stabilisation: implications for technological change and policy. In M.Hulme, H. Neufeldt (Eds) Making climate change work for us –ADAM synthesis book, Cambridge University Press.
• Leimbach, M., (2007) Technological spillovers within multi-region models: Intertemporal optimization beyond the Negishi approach. Economic Modelling, 24, 272-294.
• Leimbach, M., Eisenack, K. (2009) A trade algorithm for multi-region models subject to spillover externalities. Computational Economics., 33, 107-130.
• Leimbach, M., Bauer, N., Baumstark, L., Edenhofer, O. (2009) Mitigation costs in a globalized world. Climate policy analysis with REMIND-R. Environmental Modeling and Assessment, in press
• Leimbach, M., Bauer, N., Baumstark, L., Lüken, M, Edenhofer, O. (2009) International trade and technological change –Insights from REMIND. In Special Issue of the Energy Journal, to be published in fall 2009.
• Lüken, M., Bauer, N., Knopf, B., Leimbach, M., Luderer, G., Edenhofer, O. (2009): The role of technological flexibility for the distributive impacts of climate change mitigation policy. Paper presented at the International Energy Workshop, May 28, 2009, Venice, Italy. http://www.iccgov.org/iew2009/speakersdocs/Lueken-et-al_TheRoleofTechnological.pdf.
• Edenhofer, O., C. Carraro, J.-C. Hourcade, K. Neuhoff, G. Luderer, C. Flachsland, M. Jakob, A. Popp, J. Steckel, J. Strohschein, N. Bauer, S. Brunner, M. Leimbach, H. Lotze-Campen, V. Bosetti, E. de Cian, M. Tavoni, O. Sassi, H. Waisman, R. Crassous-Doerfler, S. Monjon, S. Dröge, H. van Essen, P. del Río, A. Türk (2009): RECIPE - The Economics of Decarbonization. Synthesis Report.
• Luderer, G., V. Bosetti, J. Steckel, H. Waisman, N. Bauer, E. De Cian, M. Leimbach, O. Sassi, M. Tavoni (2009): The Economics of Decarbonzation: Results from the RECIPE model intercomparison. RECIPE Background Paper.
• Jakob, M., V. Bosetti, H. Waisman, E. De Cian, J. Steckel, M. Leimbach, L. Baumstark (2009): The RECIPE reference scenarios. RECIPE Background Paper.
• Jakob, M., H. Waisman, V. Bosetti, E. De Cian, M. Leimbach, L. Baumstark, G. Luderer (2009): Description of the RECIPE models. RECIPE Background Paper.