In November, CSEI organized the first NordNET PhD Autumn School hosted at Chalmers University of Technology. During this intensive week focused on energy system integration and sustainable transport, PhD students were offered insights into building complex models for integrated and sustainable energy solutions. The participating doctoral students came from NordNET partner institutions and universities from all over Europe and contributed diverse perspectives that facilitated a collaborative exchange.
Students started by building a simplified electricity model, exploring storage technologies (batteries, hydrogen), wind and solar integration, then expanded to transport, heating, and industry, using the PyPSA framework to implement sector integration. We also had courses focused on Energy Hubs and Market Designs, where students learned about hydrogen and green fuel production within energy hubs, emphasizing the technology and process links essential for modeling flexible processes of decarbonization as well as the interconnections between electricity, gas, and carbon markets, with an EU focus on emissions accounting and green fuel production.
Students were able to take an in-depth exploration into modeling the transition of the transport sector, including consumer choice modeling, and the impact of electrification on energy infrastructure. The aspects include insights into the role of digitization in analyzing traffic patterns. They were also able to focus on the latest innovations in sustainable technologies such as e-mobility, EV batteries, chargers, and the integration of mobility into grids. Green Gas Modeling was also on the agenda as students worked on advanced modeling of multicarrier systems, including hydrogen and CCS, showcased solution algorithms for large-scale, stochastic energy planning.
The week concluded with an excursion to Volvo Trucks and a NordNET workshop where funded researchers shared their collaborative projects across institutions. We would like to thank all the students and lecturers who made this possible and look forward to offering the PhD school again in the future.