Project

The ongoing decarbonisation of the electricity system is fundamentally changing the requirements placed on the electricity system and bringing with it new challenges that are being exacerbated by the current energy and energy price crisis. The German federal government has therefore launched the Climate-Neutral Electricity System Platform to discuss options for the further development of the electricity system and electricity market design with the most important stakeholders in the German energy industry. A team of experts has been commissioned to provide scientific support for the platform, prepare the discussions and provide analysis.

Further information about the Climate-Neutral Electricity System Platform is available on the website of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy.

The project team supports the stakeholder process by providing expert analysis and preparing and evaluating the content of stakeholder meetings. The key challenges facing the future electricity system are at the heart of the project: financing the expansion of renewable energy and capacity to cover residual load; efficient geographical management of investment and operational decisions; and integrating flexibility options into the electricity system. The project team uses models of the German and European electricity markets and systems to conduct quantitative analyses. They contribute to the success of the stakeholder process by providing the heterogeneous stakeholder landscape with independent technical expertise and highlighting the interdependencies between the various technical issues. Their scientific expertise will support the platform in developing viable, technically sound, and Europe-compatible solutions for a climate-neutral electricity market design. Consequently, the German government will have a solid foundation on which to base political decisions regarding the future development of the electricity system and market design in Germany. 

The findings and discussions within the PKNS culminated in an options paper on the electricity market design of the future published by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection in September 2024. The paper describes and discusses various options in detail in four areas of action: “An investment framework for renewable energy sources,” “An investment framework for controllable capacities,” “Locational signals,” and “Leveraging demand-side flexibility potential.” These form the basis for the further development of the electricity market design in Germany.

December 2022 - December 2024

• Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action) 

• Guidehouse
• Consentec
• Neon
• r2b
• Öko-Institut