RES-TMO

Project Objective:

The transition to renewable energy sources (RES) is recognised worldwide and within the Trinational Metropolitan Region (TMR) as an essential prerequisite for decarbonising energy systems to meet climate policy objectives. The project “Regional Concepts for Integrated, Efficient and Sustainable Energy Supply and Storage in the Upper Rhine Trinational Metropolitan Region” aims to explore the potential and synergies arising from the complementarity of production, demand, and storage capacities across the RMT. The aim is to develop innovative concepts and tools to harness these cross-border regional potentials more effectively. Legal, political and socio-cultural frameworks, as well as the economic feasibility of an integrated RES-based energy market in the TMR, are also examined.

The project is structured into five complementary components:

1. Analysis of renewable energy production and geological storage potentials using statistical data, cartography, remote sensing, and GIS modelling.
2. Modelling a transnational electricity market in the TMR and developing scenarios for an electricity production and network infrastructure optimised for RES within the TMR.
3. Analysis of socio-cultural, economic, and regulatory frameworks, as well as incentive structures, that would enable the RMT to function as a RES-based region within a transnational network.
4. Integration of key energy sector stakeholders’ perspectives into model-based scenarios for designing an integrated RMT energy market.
5. Analysis of models and technologies in a real-world laboratory, including data security in smart grids and the development of cybersecurity solutions.

The project is led by the Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg. Co-funding partners include KIT-Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the University of Strasbourg, the University of Haute Alsace, CNRS, the energy provider Badenova, and TRION-climate. TRION-climate is particularly involved in organising the launch and closing conferences, developing a roadmap for policymakers, and drafting a Trinational Climate-Energy Report assessing the current situation.

Involvement of TRION-climate e.V.:

As a co-funding partner, with a total dedicated budget of €100,440.99, TRION-climate contributes to the following areas:

Communication and project visibility:

• Co-organisation of the launch conference on 3 December 2019 in Freiburg
• Co-organisation of the mid-term conference on 1 December 2020 (online)
• Co-organisation of the closing conference on 10 May 2022 in Freiburg

Maps, inventories and publications:

• Inventory of renewable energy production facilities in the Upper Rhine
• Interactive map of renewable energy production installations in the Upper Rhine
• Publication of the Trinational Climate-Energy Report on greenhouse gases, energy consumption, and renewable energies: achieving climate and energy objectives in the Upper Rhine