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ETM-UCL is a comprehensive E4 (energy, economy, environment and engineering) energy systems model built on the TIMES (The Integrated MARKAL-EFOM System) model generator.
ETM-UCL represents the energy systems of 11 European regions covering the EU28 member states plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. A list of regions and countries in the respective regions in ETM-UCL are shown in the table below:
| Region | Countries |
| Benelux | Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg |
| Switzerland | Switzerland |
| Germany | Germany |
| France | France |
| Italy, Austria and Malta | Italy, Austria and Malta |
| Iberia | Spain and Portugal |
| Norway and Iceland | Norway and Iceland |
| Nordic EU | Sweden, Denmark and Finland |
| UK and Ireland | UK and Ireland |
| EEU North | Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland |
| EEU South | Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and Croatia |
Each region in ETM-UCL is described and modelled in its supply sector (fuel mining, primary and secondary production, exogenous import and export), its conversion sectors (electricity and heat) and its demand sectors (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.). Each region in the model has its own energy system and is able to trade fossil fuels, biomass and electricity. The base-year (2010) energy production, conversion, trade and final consumptions are calibrated to the latest version of the IEA extended energy balance. Future energy service demands are projected using appropriate drivers (such as GDP per capita, sectoral output, population etc.) and respective elasticities. Resource availability and technology data have been taken from various sources.
The ETM-UCL model provides a basis for estimating European energy dynamics over a multi-period time horizon (2010-2100), and is expected to be applied to a wide range of policy analyses, research collaborations and academic publication from 2013 onwards.
TIMES model generator
The TIMES model generator is developed and maintained by the Energy Technology System Analysis Programme (ETSAP) of the International Energy Agency (IEA). TIMES is the successor to MARKAL and has numerous new functions and flexibilities. Both MARKAL and TIMES frameworks have been used by over 100 institutions around the world to develop national regional and global models to analyse energy, environment and climate policies. TIMES is a technology rich, bottom-up, linear programming, partial equilibrium model that minimises total discounted energy system cost in the standard version and maximises societal welfare (consumer + producer surpluses) in the elastic demand version.
Model summary
| Type: | Bottom-up, technology-rich cost optimisation |
| Purpose: | Decarbonisation pathways, technology assessment, European policy |
| Spatial scale: | 11-region EU model |
| Temporal scale: | 3 seasons (summer, intermediate, winter), 2 intra-day (day, night) |
| Main contact: | Baltazar Solano Rodriguez |
| Other contacts: | Steve Pye; Neil Strachan |
Documentation
Click to download the ETM-UCL documentation.