Artelys provides two-fold guidance to the Pentalateral Energy Forum on power sector decarbonisation

The Pentalateral Energy Forum (Penta) is the framework for regional cooperation in Central Western Europe towards improved electricity market integration and security of supply, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

In 2022, the Pentalateral Energy Forum engaged Artelys for two assignments:

• Artelys had to come up with building blocks for the construction of a joint vision for a decarbonised Penta electricity system. Building upon a review of existing scenario assessments, Artelys identified likely developments common to the different transition pathways, but also remaining uncertainties.
• Artelys in partnership with Trinomics was requested to analyse how flexibility needs in the power system of the Pentalateral Energy Forum will evolve until 2050, how they can be met, and which instruments are required to incentivise deployment and activation.

Presentation of the results at the joint Ministerial Meeting of the Pentalateral Energy Forum, the North-Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) and the UK.

Both missions were quite complementary, as they both looked at the evolution and requirements of a decarbonized power system.

The first mission had a particular focus on the long-term decarbonisation pathways of the Penta power system. It highlighted that electricity will play the central means of decarbonisation of all economic sectors and should hence be decarbonised in itself as quickly as possible, ideally towards 2035. The countries in the Pentalateral Energy Forum are particularly well placed to initiate or accelerate the required changes. Regional cooperation between countries will enable decarbonisation in the cheapest way – but requires dedicated cross-border infrastructure investments.

The second mission looked more specifically at the mid- to long-term transition of the power system and shed light on the increasingly important role of power system flexibility. In our study we showed that the flexibility needs in the Penta region will increase by 3-5 times by 2050 due to the integration of renewables and electrification. A more flexible power system will be needed, with a shift from generation-based flexibility to demand-side and storage. And here again, regional cooperation will be key, requiring additional interconnection capacity and market integration.

Both reports are now publicly available for download, together with a presentation of the results of the first mission to ministers of the Pentalateral Energy Forum, the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) and EU Commissioner Kadri Simson in December 2022.

Article 1: Power system flexibility in the Penta region – Current state and challenges for a future decarbonised

Article 2: Energy system building blocks for a common vision for decarbonised electricity system in the Penta region

Presentation: Common vision for a decarbonised electricity system by 2050