The open-source TIMES modelling framework is developed and maintained within the ETSAP technology collaboration program of the IEA - International Energy Agency – and the current version of our EnergyVille TIMES-Be model is the result of more than 30 years of experience in developing energy system optimisation models.

Thanks to the model updates realised in and supported by the FPS Economy Energy Transition Fund projects EPOC, BREGILAB and PROCURA, we are now in a position to present the most detailed, bottom-up, technology rich, full system optimization model of the Belgian energy system to date – an unprecedented endeavour made possible due to our ability to take into account all three of these crucial system optimization model characteristics:

• Cross-vector: covering both energy use - in the form of fossil fuels, renewables, clean molecules and electricity - and feedstock.
• Cross-sector: covering all supply - refineries and the power sector - and end-use demand sectors - industry, residential, commercial, transport and agriculture sectors.
• Cross-border: covering both projected and timesliced import-export cost curves for electricity from other EU countries, and possible import of clean molecules.

Additionally, just as the energy transition is exactly that – a transition and a work in progress – so is this PATHS 2050 Platform continuously in transition and a work in progress. As such, we continuously identify further areas of improvement, all of which can be found in this detailed working document covering our assumptions, sector details and sources. 

tO THE WORKING DOCUMENT