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Technologies for the Energy Transition (TET)’s mission is to explore and assess the economic and social facets of innovation within the energy sector. The energy transition is one of the most urgent global challenges of our time.

The Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP), to which FEEM participated as observer organization, stressed that to reach deep, rapid, and sustained emission reductions it is necessary, inter alia, a transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, also through the acceleration of zero and low-carbon technologies. Yet, the path to a successful energy transition is hampered by the limited deployment of new technologies. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), as much as 35% of cumulative CO2 reductions by 2070 will depend on technologies that are currently in prototypical stages, with an additional 40% reliant on technologies yet to be widely commercially available.

Our aim is to address this challenge by exploring innovative policies and assessing market penetration of emerging energy technologies as the trajectory of the energy transition hinges on four key factors:

  • Evolving technology costs and performance – we model the structure and evolution of power systems, assessing how the costs and performance of new technologies (such as storage solutions, VRES penetration, hydrogen) change over time, shaping their feasibility and integration into the energy system, along with the needs in terms of infrastructure development.
  • Regulation and innovation support – we study the development of policies and regulation in support of innovation within the energy sector (on topics including energy efficiency, ancillary services, flexibility, cross-border power trade), examining their role in facilitating or hindering the transition.
  • Electricity load and consumption patterns – we monitor the evolution of demand and how consumption behaviours shift with preferences, in response to evolving energy technologies and policies.
  • Macroeconomic impacts of energy transition policies – we observe how different energy transition scenarios impact on the economies of countries and their trade interconnections.

The geographical scope of TET’s work covers Europe and Caucasus region, the Mediterranean basin, and Africa. We rely on advanced methodologies, spanning from Linear Mixed Integer Energy models, Geographical Information System (GIS) Analysis, Cost-Benefit Analysis, making use of cutting-edge softwares, including Plexos, OnSSET, and different programming languages.