IEA IETS Task 22: Climate Resilience and Energy Adaptation in Industry under Uncertainty (working period 2024 - 2026)

The main objective of this task is to promote understanding and progress in digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI), and related technologies in order to enable climate resilience (extreme weather and events) and energy adaptation (electricity, heating, and sector coupling) in energy-intensive industries. Specifically, the challenges of energy flexibility and demand response will be identified by means of surveys of Austrian stakeholders and the results presented nationally in a workshop format.

Short Description

The overall objective of IEA Task 22 is to promote understanding and progress in digitalization, artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies to strengthen climate resilience and energy adaptation in energy-intensive sectors. To this end, knowledge on climate resilience and energy adaptation in energy-intensive sectors will be gathered to enable informed decisions and innovative solutions. Stakeholder involvement is promoted through specific surveys and a joint workshop. This will result in strategic recommendations to strengthen the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries for current and future challenges.

The activities include conducting national workshops and surveys to identify potentials, obstacles and incentives for industrial flexibility. To this end, the current state of research on climate resilience and energy adaptation must be surveyed. Special focus is placed on the development of flexible operating strategies such as demand response, energy market participation and decentralized energy resources (electricity, heat) as well as sector coupling. The aim is to show how the use of digitalization and AI, as well as IoT and cloud technologies, can optimize industrial processes and demand management. One Austrian focus is on the economic evaluation of flexibility potential and industrial prosumer models in the context of "heat highways".

Internationally, the project should lead to a sound knowledge base on climate resilience and energy adaptation. Innovative approaches to the use of digital and AI technologies in energy-intensive industries will be summarized using best practice examples.

National data on flexibility potential and hurdles will be collected and supplemented by international comparisons. One result is the development of concrete recommendations for action for stakeholders and regulators. As a flagship project, the results of the national "Industry4Redispatch" project are disseminated at international level. This will result in active participation in international Subtask 1.

This approach lays the foundation for increased climate resilience and energy adaptation through the targeted use of digitalization and AI in energy-intensive industries, both nationally and internationally.

Project Partners

Project lead

TU Wien
Institute for Energy Systems and Thermodynamics
Prof. René Hofmann
Getreidemarkt 9/E302, 1060 Wien
E-Mail: rene.hofmann@tuwien.ac.at

Project partners

Energy Institute at Johannes Kepler University Linz
Simon Moser
Altenberger Straße 69
4040 Linz
E-Mail: Moser@energieinstitut-linz.at

Participants

Austria, Canada, Denmark (Operating Agent), Germany, Portugal, Sweden