EDGE
Research team:
Prof. Michael Lehning – EPFL, Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences
Prof. Evelina Trutnevyte – University of Geneva, Renewable Energy Systems
Prof. Claudia R. Binder, Dr. Mert Duygan, Dr. Maria Anna Hecher – EPFL, Laboratory on Human-Environment Relations of Urban Systems
Prof. Christof Bucher – BFH, Laboratory for Photovoltaic Systems
Prof. Vanessa Burg – WSL, Sustainable Forestry
Prof. Gabriela Hug – ETHZ, Power System Laboratory
Annelen Kahl – Spin-off SUNWELL
Prof. Oliver Kröcher – PSI, Bioenergy and Catalysis Laboratory
Prof. Jürg Rohrer – ZHAW, Renewable Energy
Prof. Giovanni Sansavini – ETHZ, Risk and Reliability Engineering
Prof. Tobias Schmidt – ETHZ, Energy and Technology Policy
Prof. Philipp Schütz – HSLU, Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Energy Technology
Prof. Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen – University of Bern, Institute of Political Science
Prof. Bjarne Steffen – ETHZ, Climate Finance and Policy
Peter Toggweiler – Basler & Hofmann AG
Prof. Rolf Wüstenhagen – University of St. Gallen, Institute for Economy and the Environment
Funding: Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), Swiss Energy Research for the Energy Transition (SWEET)
Duration: 2021-2027
The overall EDGE objective is to fast-track the growth of locally-sourced decentralized renewable energy in Switzerland and to ensure that by 2035 and 2050, when ambitious shares of renewable energy are reached, the Swiss energy system is designed and operated in a technically and economically optimal as well as secure way, and that it is well positioned in the European markets.
Specifically, the EDGE consortium aims to move beyond generic designs of decentralized renewable systems and markets to a regionalized analysis that is tailored to the Swiss cities, midlands, and the Alps. The pathways towards largely electrified and multi-carrier energy systems will be examined by analyzing electricity, mobility, and heating sectors. The consortium plans to combine research with innovation from three clusters of Pilot and Demonstration project (P&Ds) in the field in urban settings (the cantons of Bern, Luzern, and Aargau), midlands (Waldkirch, St. Gallen), and the Alps (Davos and Bagnes-Verbier, Graubünden and Wallis). The mutual learning from setting up the P&Ds will ensure feedback loops between theory and practice, and ability to use the outcomes for delineating realistic national-level pathways for successful implementation of nearly or fully renewable Switzerland by 2050.
As the energy system is a socio-technical system, the EDGE consortium will deliver the essential interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary expertise, ranging from technology development to systems modeling, political science, management, economics, sustainability science, and energy practice, in order to identify the most efficient measures to unlock the full potential of decentralized renewable energy. In sum, the EDGE consortium aims to become the point of reference in Switzerland for integrating very high shares of renewable generation, based on solid scientific work and science- practice collaboration taking the specific settings in cities, midlands and the Alps into consideration.
I am contributing to this research with my doctoral project – Managing transition pathways in socio-technical energy systems.