Project description
Smart planning for Europe’s clean energy future
Switching to renewable energy systems such as wind and solar is vital for tackling climate change, but success hinges on careful planning and seamless integration with modern electric technologies. In addition to electricity generation, the transition concerns how transport, heating, and industry are powered. In this context, the ERC-funded BRIGHT project aims to integrate two types of energy models: one outlining long-term global climate targets, and another that addressing daily operations. By bridging these models, BRIGHT facilitates the coordinated operation of renewables and electrification, rather than their mere coexistence. The work will provide policymakers with a roadmap, demonstrating how Europe can get the most out of clean energy.
Objective
The rapid growth of solar and wind power, as well as demand electrification technologies, increasingly underscores that successful climate change mitigation strategies will heavily rely on sector-coupled energy systems, in which renewables-dominated electricity is used for previously non-electric end-uses and fuels. Under such sector-coupling, the integration of variable renewable energy (VRE) and demand-side electrification are highly synergistic; cheap VRE makes electrification attractive, while flexibilization of vehicle charging or heat generation reduces reliance on more expensive VRE integration options.
Energy modeling tools that inform both policy and the private sector either focus on long-term temporal and spatial scales to understand the transition to climate neutrality (Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs)), or on shorter scales relevant for power system operation, VRE integration and sector coupling (Power System Models (PSM)). However, no single tool captures both scales with high detail, leading to an increasingly critical knowledge gap that results in the risk of misallocation of substantial future investments.
BRIGHT will bridge this gap by a first-of-its-kind bidirectional coupling of a global IAM with a PSM, combining the strengths of both. It is organized in five work packages: A method-focused WP1 on establishing the model coupling; three WPs on advanced modeling and analysis of sector transitions in transport (WP2), buildings (WP3), and industry (WP4); and a final WP5 that synthesizes insights to enhance energy transition scenarios for Europe, other major economies, and global Paris-aligned climate change mitigation pathways. BRIGHT will inform climate policy and business on crucial questions such as the cost and achievability of climate stabilization targets, residual fossil emissions, and the role of renewable energy technologies and electrification in competition with structurally conservative mitigation options like CCS, biomass or nuclear.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences social geography transport electric vehicles
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy wind energy
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
- natural sciences computer and information sciences software software applications simulation software
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
14473 POTSDAM
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.