Project start MILES
15.08.2022
The MILES exploratory project researches the needs assessment, system integration and technology-neutral evaluation of medium and long-term storage technologies in the context of the EAG goals.
With the Renewable Energy Sources Expansion Act (EAG), Austria has set itself an ambitious energy and climate policy target towards climate neutrality by 2040. The EAG envisages the additional expansion of electricity generation from renewable energies (RE) by 27 TWh by 2030 - this corresponds to the addition of approx. 17 GW RE. In the long term, a conversion of the entire energy system (transport, industry, heat) and a reduction in import dependency is necessary.
However, the fluctuating supply of RE poses massive challenges for the energy system - seasonal fluctuations lead to undersupply in the winter months (annual peak load) and oversupply in the spring and summer months. Medium- and long-term storage technologies (MLSTs) are needed to compensate for this seasonality. Long-term energy storage is therefore an essential part of maintaining the security of supply of an efficient, sustainable and import-independent energy and electricity system.
The focus of the MILES exploratory project is on a needs assessment and holistic assessment of MLSTs, taking into account the system requirements of the Austrian energy system and its development in the sense of the EAG up to 2030. For this purpose, the target function-dependent need for MLSTs is determined with the help of the Austrian electricity model LEGO and their economic efficiency is examined. This is the starting point for the overall modeling and needs assessment for long-term storage of a sector-coupled, import-independent Austrian overall energy system.
The project is funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) as part of the ENERGIE.FREI.RAUM program.
