RIs for simulation and modelling, as well as advanced characterization and testing facilities, are essential tools for designing advanced materials, for exploring energy conversion processes and for designing  and optimizing energy systems. Energy technology-oriented roadmaps have prioritized the need for such RIs in Europe. Progress in energy research specifically could be enhanced by comprehensively using methods or data that are already available or newly generated. The energy research community thus would strongly benefit from exploiting synergies across different technologies and could further advance the cross-cutting methodological development. Cross-cutting RIs providing these services therefore are the key to accelerating innovation in this sector.

Current status

ENERGY MATERIALS Energy technologies with their high and rapidly changing technical demands are particularly dependent on fast innovations in the structural and functional materials sector. The markets for materials for energy  and environmental applications are expected to grow at an above average rate. The main research task in this context is to develop materials with increasing performance and reliability at lower costs. At European level the topic, for example, is addressed as part of the SET-Plan Roadmap Materials for Low Carbon Technologies and in various cross-sectional aspects of the 10 key actions to the SET-Plan. It finds expression in the correspondent research and industrial platforms (e.g. EERA, EIIs, EMIRI). Energy materials research currently exploits large-scale European characterization facilities, such as the synchrotrons ESFRI Landmark ESRF EBS (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility Extremely Brilliant Source, PSE), PSI, DESY, Diamond, ALBA, Soleil, BESSY, ANKA, Elettra, the future ESFRI Landmark European Spallation Source ERIC (PSE), the neutron facilities ESFRI Landmark ILL (Institut Max von Laue - Paul Langevin, PSE), ISIS, FRM-2 Munich, SINQ and latest generation electron microscopes. Computational materials science gains importance with regard to creating  new materials or chemical agents with tailor-made properties (Computational Materials Design). For this, High Performance Computing (HPC) Infrastructures and data processing (see below) are increasingly used in the analysis of experimental data to determine materials properties and in simulating  complex 3D dynamic transport, reaction, ageing and damage processes.

DATA, SIMULATION AND MODELLING The multi-disciplinarity of energy-related themes means that it is difficult to identify a community for this field at first sight. The task is integrating activities with the objective of developing and applying scale bridging approaches to design new materials  and to study materials as well as energy related processes. Energy networks and systems, from local to macroscopic scales, need detailed and large volume data handling and model-based processing. Quite a number of cross-disciplinary energy-relevant  topics have to be addressed like, for example, new materials design; energy conversion processes; systems design and operational and lifecycle optimization. Further examples are process modelling for nuclear repositories, fusion reactor modelling or energy market modelling via high-resolution renewable energy production forecasts. The European Technology  Platform for High Performance Computing (ETP4HPC), and the ESFRI Landmark PRACE (Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe, DIGIT) facilitate high-impact scientific discovery and engineering research and development across all disciplines. The new Energy oriented Centre of Excellence for computing applications (EoCoE), working closely with associated experimental and industrial groups, is expected to have a multiscale integrating character and contribute to filling this gap, along with databases and research platforms. Distributed RI platforms such as DERlab and ERIC-Lab and a rising number of national living laboratories collecting and processing data of complex real energy systems have the potential to advance the digital realtime integration of distributed and volatile energy resources into energy systems.

GAPS, CHALLENGES AND FUTURE NEEDS

ENERGY MATERIALS. In spite of the availability of quite a number of methods and facilities, large cross-sectional RIs and research platforms explicitly dedicated to R&D for energy materials still often lack coherence with regard to scale-bridging and multi-method approaches. RI for materials discovery/development and for materials characterization covering length scales - from the atomic structure to macroscopic engineering components – and for different time scales – ranging from sub-picoseconds up to the lifetime of energy systems of tens of years – should also include life cycle experiments, ageing and non-equilibrium loads. The future of characterization therefore is expected not only to include individual techniques which are pushed to their limits, but also to be a situation where the community devises coherent and synergistic strategies employing a range of cutting-edge characterization methods to address complex multiscale problems in materials and systems. In addition, there is a particularly strong need to develop techniques for in situ and in operando studies of energy materials and components during operation – e.g. for electrochemical and electronic materials and devices.

DATA, SIMULATION AND MODELLING. At the front end of the energy-related innovation chain, the objective of computational materials science and chemistry is to create new reliable and cost-efficient materials or chemical agents for changing demands within the new energy systems. For this, dedicated HPC and integrated databases are needed for the rational design of new materials in terms of structure and properties, but also in simulating complex conversion processes on all scales and in situ/in operando.

On the energy system’s side, a multi-scale approach is needed to properly address the interaction between local power, heat generation and energy carriers, as well as between the distributed and local energy systems and the central energy system. The corresponding system transformation, based on emerging technologies, requires tests and validation before implementation. In order to meet these requirements, while keeping legal, technical and environmental standards, there is a need for expanding the European capacity in energy systems real-time simulation. Modelling of large-scale energy storage, power grids and complete urban system structures is necessary, including information on the social and economic dimensions. RI in this field would provide a virtual environment of the energy system in which new policies, regulation, control strategies or technologies can be tested and optimized ex ante. Since much of the development and smart resource management happen locally, the models should be able to capture data with very detailed geographical resolution. On the other hand, merging regional, national and European views is needed when outlining the design of the future energy system and related policies. This knowledge requires adequate HPC capacities as well as concerted approaches of handling big data volumes. It is key to further political decisions and to determining the immense investments needed in the energy sector in coming years.