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The EU is promoting hydrogen as enabling energy carrier that may account for up to 20% of energy and especially fulfill between 20% and 50% of transportation demands and between 5% and 20% of industrial needs. To ensure the success of this shift, Power-to-Hydrogen and Hydrogen-to-X technologies have attracted significant interest because they transform renewable power directly into green hydrogen, via water electrolysis, which can be stored and transferred more readily than other fuels for several end-uses. The present paper aims to discuss the role of such technologies in the current and future energy systems, with a specific reference to the European scenario. The main energy sectors where hydrogen could play an important role will be discussed, such as transportation, power generation, manufacturing sectors, refining and agriculture, with a focus on potential technological integration and synergies, providing a guideline for industrial players up to 2050 with a discussion about technology maturity by presenting short-term/long-term roadmaps. [Display omitted] • Overview of green hydrogen production and Power-to-Hydrogen concepts. • Focus on European hydrogen demand and potential hydrogen applications. • Overview of several concepts of Hydrogen-to-X, enabling sector coupling. • Hydrogen can store energy with capacities ranging from 1 MW to 10 GW. • Hydrogen has the potential to meet 5–20% of industrial energy needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is often suggested as a universal fuel that can replace fossil fuels. This paper analyses the feasibility of direct hydrogen utilisation in all energy sectors in a 100% renewable energy system for Europe in 2050 using hour-by-hour energy system analysis. Our results show that using hydrogen for heating purposes has high costs and low energy efficiency. Hydrogen for electricity production is beneficial only in limited quantities to restrict biomass consumption, but increases the system costs due to losses. The transport sector results show that hydrogen is an expensive alternative to liquid e-fuels and electrified transport due to high infrastructure costs and respectively low energy efficiency. The industry sector may benefit from hydrogen to reduce biomass at a lower cost than in the other energy sectors, but electrification and e-methane may be more feasible. Seen from a systems perspective, hydrogen will play a key role in future renewable energy systems, but primarily as e-fuel feedstock rather than direct end-fuel in the hard-to-abate sectors. • Hour-by-hour energy system analysis for direct green hydrogen utilisation in Europe. • Hydrogen for industrial demands can lower biomass consumption. • Power production applications are costly and limited for hydrogen. • Hydrogen for heating is more expensive than heat pumps and district heating. • E-fuels should be the main application for hydrogen in the transport sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper inaugurates the study of the energy-sustainable economic growth for Europe. It is novel both because it calculates an Index for Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) index for European countries, but foremost because it compares the conventional energy-growth nexus with the newly appeared energy-sustainable growth nexus. Also, it goes further by suggesting ways to overcome the limitations pointed out to the use of the conventional GDP. The paper uses the road sector energy consumption, which is in accordance with the enormous discussion about the high energy intensity of the road transport sector and about the huge dependence from fossil sources of this sector. The dynamic Driscoll-Kraay estimator is also used, which allows decomposing the effects in the short- and long-run and is also robust in the presence of cross-sectional dependence. Results show that economic growth and sustainable economic welfare are not perfect substitute variables. In the long-run, the feedback hypothesis is verified only for sustainable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the relationships between the market performance of the renewable energy sector and that of the fossil fuel energy sector in Europe, this paper develops a multi-resolution analysis of the series by leveraging the tools derived from the wavelet analysis. Wavelet, by decomposing time series into their time scale components, each associated to a specific frequency range, are instrumental for studying co-movements of the fossil fuel and renewable index prices over several time horizons. The European Renewable Index, is used to describe the market price of the renewable energy sector, while the MSCI Europe Energy is designed to capture the large and mid cap companies' performance across Integrated Oil & Gas segments in Europe. The findings demonstrate the existence of areas with significant co-movements between the series at scales ranging from two-months to two-years, up to 2011. After that, areas of strong coherence are kept for a shorter amount of time, from two to six months. Moreover, despite the fact that the variables are in phase, the renewable index price is outpacing the fossil fuel price dynamic at low frequency. This relation is reversed at higher frequencies. Finally, time scale regression and nonparametric analysis suggest the cross-effects of the price series are frequency-dependent, with the indices being negatively related only in the long-run. • The relationship between fossil fuel and renewable energy prices in Europe is examined. • A multi-resolution analysis of the series is derived from the wavelet framework. • Existence of regions co-movements between the ERI and MSCI-EE prices at scales corresponding to durations. • The cross-effects of the price series are frequency-dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Agent-Based Model to emulate real-world performance of microgrid with P2P trading. • Holistic simulation of economic, technical, and ecological metrics. • Validation of Model with urban area of medium-sized German city. • Comparison of microgrid metrics before and during the European energy crisis. • Conclusions for research, practice, and energy policy. The shift towards renewable energy sources (RES) in energy systems is becoming increasingly important. Residential energy generation and storage assets, smart home energy management systems, and peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity trading in microgrids can help integrate and balance decentralized renewable electricity supply with an increasingly electrified power, heat, and transport demand, reducing costs and CO 2 emissions. However, these microgrids are difficult to model because they consist of autonomous and interacting entities, leading to emergent phenomena and a high degree of complexity. Agent-based modeling is an established technique to simulate the complexity of microgrids. However, the existing literature still lacks real-world implementation studies and, as a first step, models capable of validating the existing results with real-world data. To this end, we present an agent-based model and analyze the corresponding microgrid performance with real-world data. The model quantifies economic, technical, and environmental metrics to simulate microgrid performance holistically and, in line with state-of-the-art research, consists of self-interested, autonomous agents with specific load profiles, RES generation, and demand-response potential. The model can simulate a P2P marketplace where electricity is traded between agents. In the second part of the paper, we validate the model with data from a medium-sized German city. In this case study, we also compare microgrid performance in 2022, during the energy market crisis in Europe, with historical data from 2019 to assess the effects of energy market shocks. Our results show how microgrids with P2P trading can reduce electricity costs and CO 2 emissions. However, our trading mechanism illustrates that the benefits of energy-community trading are almost exclusively shared among prosumers, highlighting the need to consider distributional issues when implementing P2P trading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest biomass is one of the few non-fossil and non-weather-dependent energy sources available in the Nordic countries. The future role of forest-based bioenergy is, however, unclear as biomass is a limited resource and has many alternative applications. This study analyses how fossil emissions and land-use is affected by forest bioenergy in the North-European heat and power sector, using an energy system model with endogenous capacity investments. The novelty of this paper lies in the detailed description of the substitution factors for different bioenergy levels toward a fully decarbonised energy system. The main results show that forest biomass remains important for heat production in the Nordic countries towards 2050 in a cost-optimal scenario. According to our model results, less use of forest biomass for heating will increase the use of fossil fuel, wind power, and power-to-heat in 2030, while in 2050 also solar PV will be used as a substitute for forest biomass. Implying that less use of forest biomass will increase the land use from wind and solar PV installation and increase and prolong the fossil carbon emission in the Nordic countries. • 1 TWh biomass reduces the emission with 0.10 mill ton of CO 2 in 2030 in North Europe. • The land-use substitution factor in North Europe is 18–47 km2/TWh biomass in 2050. • Forest biomass remains important for heat production towards 2050. • Excluding forest biomass from the energy sector increases emissions and land use. • Less use of biomass implies more use of land for wind installations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The forthcoming paradigmatic changes in the energy sector point to innovation as being one of the main drivers of growth for utilities. In search for their future business model, open innovation and, in particular the collaboration with startups, is recognized as a means to keep the leading position in a changing industry. In this respect, utilities deriving from the European market, which is considered as a reference case for many other regions in the world, follow the 4th wave of Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) by initiating relevant programs.The aim of the paper is to examine the state of CVC programs of the European electric utilities and, more broadly, to examine their motives, to identify trends and strategies and to discuss the associated challenges. As our current knowledge on the subject is limited, the purpose of the study is to investigate this evolving phenomenon. To this end, a multiple case-study methodology is used by examining the CVC programs of four major European utilities (E.ON, EDF, Enel and Iberdrola). Findings suggest that CVC programs are now integrated in an Open Innovation approach and thus complemented by numerous other initiatives. All CVCs conduct investments tightly linked to the parent’s firm operations and the majority of them have more of a strategic (than financial) rationale in their investments. As a result, the cooperation between startups and the parent company is of great importance and poses a number of challenges related to the development of initiatives that would create linkages, achieve the alignment of the time frame and set up mutually beneficial commercial collaborations, including the ‘if’ and ‘how’ startups may work with competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to green economies has been mediated by concrete cases and experiments in a variety of different industrial and social sectors. What is lacking, is research that would synthesize key findings and “lessons learned” across a variety of cases. In this study, we explore ten cases of green economy of different sectors and approaches from five European countries and identify factors that have had critical importance for the success or failure of the cases. Our paper reveals similarities across small and large scale cases and different approaches for implementing green economy. We identified critical factors related to economic viability, public funding, technological development, impact assessments, public policies and regulation, social capital, leadership and coordination as well as public acceptability and image. According to our results, transition to green economies requires negotiation between potential trade-offs among multiple goals, and interests of various stakeholders. The mutual benefits can be communicated through valid impact assessments and the integration of R&D into the practical implementation. Securing the continuity of funding and leadership is crucial in successful experiments and attention should be paid to fostering social capital among stakeholders. Instead of any single critical factor, the practical implementation of green economy is related to a multiplicity of factors and causalities depending on the context. The challenges with the practical implementation of green economy can only be met with patient, careful and far-sighted planning of green economy initiatives as well as continuous learning from past experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reanalysis models are rapidly gaining popularity for simulating wind power output due to their convenience and global coverage. However, they should only be relied upon once thoroughly proven. This paper reports the first international validation of reanalysis for wind energy, testing NASA's MERRA and MERRA-2 in 23 European countries. Both reanalyses suffer significant spatial bias, overestimating wind output by 50% in northwest Europe and underestimating by 30% in the Mediterranean. We derive national correction factors, and show that after calibration national hourly output can be modelled with R 2 above 0.95. Our underlying data are made freely available to aid future research. We then assess Europe's wind resources with twenty-year simulations of the current and potential future fleets. Europe's current average capacity factor is 24.2%, with countries ranging from 19.5% (Germany) to 32.4% (Britain). Capacity factors are rising due to improving technology and locations; for example, Britain's wind fleet is now 23% more productive than in 2005. Based on the current planning pipeline, we estimate Europe's average capacity factor could increase by nearly a third to 31.3%. Countries with large stakes in the North Sea will see significant gains, with Britain's average capacity factor rising to 39.4% and Germany's to 29.1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the risk transmissions across the green economy indices of three major regions which include US, Europe and Asia. The econometric analyses are conducted using DCC-GARCH and TVP-VAR connectedness approach to evaluate potential spillover effects within the context of oil and gold. Results indicate that green economy indices of US-Europe exhibit the greatest time-varying correlations among the three pairs during much of 2010–2022 consistent with that of the general equity market. However, co-movements during the COVID-19 pandemic period seem to display a change in pattern for green economy indices. The strength of the co-movements between the US and Europe displayed a declining trend, while that between US and Asia was strengthened, suggesting greater interdependence between these two markets. TVP-VAR connectedness analysis revealed that US and Europe dominate the transmission of the shocks across the years in the green economy, similar to that of the equity markets. However, during the pandemic a pronounced shift occurred in green economies when considering the risk transmissions within the context of commodities: oil and gold. While Asian green economy index was persistently a receiver of risk transmission from oil unlike the other two regions, since pandemic, oil displayed an asymmetric effect and has become the net transmitter of risk in negative returns of the green economies of US and Europe. This may reflect the diversion in environmental policies of the two regions in the recent past, and point to the dominance of energy sector in the green economy. These findings have substantial implications for the development of green economy policies and from an investment perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the risk transmissions across the green economy indices of three major regions which include US, Europe and Asia. The econometric analyses are conducted using DCC-GARCH and TVP-VAR connectedness approach to evaluate potential spillover effects within the context of oil and gold. Results indicate that green economy indices of US-Europe exhibit the greatest time-varying correlations among the three pairs during much of 2010–2022 consistent with that of the general equity market. However, co-movements during the COVID-19 pandemic period seem to display a change in pattern for green economy indices. The strength of the co-movements between the US and Europe displayed a declining trend, while that between US and Asia was strengthened, suggesting greater interdependence between these two markets. TVP-VAR connectedness analysis revealed that US and Europe dominate the transmission of the shocks across the years in the green economy, similar to that of the equity markets. However, during the pandemic a pronounced shift occurred in green economies when considering the risk transmissions within the context of commodities: oil and gold. While Asian green economy index was persistently a receiver of risk transmission from oil unlike the other two regions, since pandemic, oil displayed an asymmetric effect and has become the net transmitter of risk in negative returns of the green economies of US and Europe. This may reflect the diversion in environmental policies of the two regions in the recent past, and point to the dominance of energy sector in the green economy. These findings have substantial implications for the development of green economy policies and from an investment perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'Clean Energy for All Europeans' legislative package places citizens and communities at the heart of the European energy policy by promoting local energy generation, consumption and trading. As only recently energy communities were formally defined in the European regulatory framework, the literature on energy community business models is still scattered and a clear systematization of community arrangements is missing. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive view of the prevailing and emergent energy communities business models, focusing on the value proposition offered by these initiatives. Community projects across Europe are analyzed and eight community business model archetypes are identified having the current European regulatory framework as background. The Business Model Canvas and the Lean Canvas frameworks are used to characterize and compare these archetypes. The main differences between business models are examined to highlight the most relevant strengths and barriers for energy community development. This analysis revealed the dominance of traditional self-consumption place-based communities, while business models involving differentiated services as demand flexibility, aggregation, energy efficiency and electric mobility are still scarce. However, the research around novel business models must be strengthened as they are expected to become crucial in upholding energy communities as key players in the energy transition and foster the regulatory framework evolution. • A comprehensive review of energy community business models is presented. • Eight business model archetypes are identified based on energy community drivers. • The Business Model Canvas and Lean Canvas are used to characterize business models. • The internal electricity market directive offers an attractive setting for novel business models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]