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Bottom-up integrated assessment models, like MESSAGEix, depend on the description of the capabilities and limitations of technological, economical and ecological parameters, and their development over long-time horizons. Even small models of a few nodes, technologies and model years require input-data sets involving several hundred thousand data points. Such data sets quickly become incomprehensible, which makes error detection, collaborative working and the interpretation of results challenging, especially for non-self-created models. In response to the resulting need for manageable, comprehensible, and traceable representation of input-data, we developed a Python-based spreadsheet interface (d2ix) that enables presentation and editing of model input-data in a concise form. By increasing accessibility and transparency of the model input-data, d2ix reduces barriers to entry for new modellers and simplifies collaborative working. This paper describes the methodology and introduces the open-source Python-package d2ix. The package is available under the Apache License, Version 2.0 on GitHub.

The environmental impact of the energy sector and its substantial economic scale lead to the conception of a large number of studies by a wide variety of stakeholders in the field. These studies investigate the possible evolution pathways of the energy systems in form of multiple scenarios, and may cover both a national and an international scale. The high connectivity of the European electricity grid results in a dependency of the national energy systems with each other. Hence, knowledge about the possible energy futures of neighbouring countries is crucial to make well-informed decisions for a national energy policy. This work thus consists of a meta-analysis of country-specific energy scenario studies for 15 neighbouring countries of Germany. This analysis is then compiled into 1) the country profiles, which consist of country-specific cause–and–effect relationships concerning various energy-technical aspects and 2) the analysis charts, from which a generalized overview spanning the energy futures across all countries has been achieved.