Decarbonizing energy systems

The purpose of this project is to formulate a lecture and a case related to decarbonizing the energy systems in relation to the DTU courses 12101/2 and 12105/6 Quantitative Sustainability, which many students will follow in the future as part of the engineering studies at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

The material will focus on the electricity production of the energy systems, since especially the Danish society is expected to expand electrification with the introduction of more wind- and photo-voltaic solar power and at the same time move the demand from fossil sources to the electricity supply ( Heating is moved from natural gas and to heat pumps and car transport is moved from petrol/diesel to electric vehicles).

The material consists of 3 video lectures, slides, and an Excel sheets, which illustrate how sustainability indicators can be estimated, and finally, a case, where 18 sustainability indicators are determined from a user-defined electricity system consisting of the technologies introduced in the UN report "UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE: “Carbon Neutrality in the UNECE Region: Integrated Life-cycle Assessment of Electricity Sources” (2022).
The resulting Global Warming Potential ( CO₂ emissions) are compared with the planetary CO₂ boundary as formulated in the Paris Agreement, and it can be evaluated if the planetary boundary of CO₂ emissions is violated by the electricity system in 2050. The students of the quantitative sustainability course are asked to suggest a future technology mix of the electricity system and to evaluate if the planetary CO₂ boundary is violated.

The material can be downloaded in the menu to the right and can be used by providing credit to the author.

An Excel model for estimating the CO₂ emissions of a future technology mix of the electricity system in 2050 and for evaluating if the planetary boundary of CO₂ emissions is violated.