NWO ESI-far grant for UG researchers Steg, Bouman and Scherpen

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has granted an ESI-far grant of over €750,000 to the TeSoP project established by UG researchers Prof. Linda Steg, Dr Thijs Bouman and Prof. Jacquelien Scherpen. The team will conduct research into transitions in heating facilities and what consequences these have for the broader integrated energy system. The project is interdisciplinary, involving environmental psychologists at the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, technical scientists at the Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), the Municipality of Groningen (WarmteStadt), energy company Enexis, ING Bank, energy transition initiative PowerChainger and multifunctional venue De Groene Afslag.

Energy systems

Energy systems are complicated. They include and unite a large number of different energy grids (like electricity, heating and gas), contain various system components (such as technological, economical and societal ones) and operate at a variety of levels (local, regional and national). The current approach to improve energy systems generally only takes a limited number of aspects into account. This results in suboptimal and unrealistic solutions, from a technological, economical and societal perspective.

TeSoP project

The TeSoP project proposes an integrated model of energy systems, comprising three important facets of system integration: between energy grids, between system components and between grid levels. Unique to this project is the interdisciplinary and integrated approach. TeSoP will integrate the newest insights from engineering, economics and business and the social sciences. TeSoP will develop new methodologies, technologies and knowledge concerning how various aspects of integrated energy systems can optimally be aligned to one another, so that we can achieve a sustainable energy transition that is technologically, economically and societally feasible, reasonable and desirable.

NWO Energy System Integration

The NWO ESI-far (Energy System Integration towards a future-proof, affordable, and reliable energy system) call for proposals is the third call as part of the Energy System Integration programme. The UG researchers already received grants from previous calls as part of this programme. With the new grant, they will be able to continue their successful collaboration.

The ESI-far call focuses on energy system integration issues at various levels. For example, linking and optimizing infrastructure for production, transport and energy storage, with specific attention paid to digitization. The system as a whole is key, not the specific components involved. This call connects with the digitization theme of the Knowledge and Innovation Contract (Kennis- en Innovatiecontract: KIC) 2018-2019, coordinated by the NWO and Topsector Energy.