Research Areas

Energy Markets and Sector Coupling

Head of research area: Dr. Jonas Egerer

The sustainable transformation to a climate-neutral energy system leads to a stronger market integration for different energy carriers. The research focus in “Energy Markets and Sector Coupling” is on the further development of market design to create an efficient framework for an increasing number of different market participants. Particular challenges are the harmonization of market incentives for centralized and decentralized developments, the coordination of infrastructure planning in coupled energy markets, and the consideration of uncertainty and risk aversion of investment decisions.

Link to the page of the research area

Energy Market Design and Policy

Head of research area: Dr. Christian Sölch

Energy market design plays a key role in the transition to a climate-neutral energy system. It is crucial for medium- and long-term investment decisions in generation and storage technologies as well as infrastructure, among others, and determines the interaction between private-sector and state-regulated players. The focus of the research area “Energy Market Design and Policy” is to analyze the impact of different market design proposals from the scientific and political debate and to provide a scientific basis for advisory activities in the context of policy consulting.

Link to the page of the research area

Methods for Energy Market Analysis

Head of research area: Dr. Julia Grübel

The transformation towards climate neutrality leads to rapid evolvements in energy markets. In addition, emerging technologies induce a much higher degree of market integration. Hence, to address contemporary research questions with regard to energy market design, market models are required that account for these more complex aspects. The research focus in “Methods for Energy Market Analysis” is on the development of respective (multilevel) market equilibrium models. Moreover, mathematical theory and solution methods for these models are derived in order to enable an economic analysis of energy markets.

Link to the page of the research area

Hydrogen Economy and Technologies

Head of research area: Philipp Runge

Hydrogen is a central element of a sustainable economic system. The demand for hydrogen and its derivatives will increase significantly across all sectors in the coming years.

The research focus “Hydrogen Economy and Technologies” is on questions around the ramp-up of a global hydrogen economy. We use techno-economic models to describe current and future hydrogen-based value chains, derive transformation processes, and develop recommendations for regulatory frameworks.

Link to the page of the research area

Social Networks and Human Behavior

Head of research area: Prof. Dr. Veronika Grimm

The research area “Social Networks and Human Behaviour” focuses on understanding how social networks influence an individual’s behaviour in a number of different ways. Through information flow in social networks, individuals form beliefs about the world and potential successful strategies. They also hold preferences about the outcomes of other members in the network, build reputations with others, and form reciprocal relationships. Additionally, individuals may respond to pressure from other members to conform to social norms within the network. By studying these relationships and interactions between them, this research area aims to deepen our understanding of decision-making and society as a whole.

Link to the page of the research area