RES2Go: Ma ching ene gy demand and supply in indus y
hubs in Eu ope
Facul y o Enginee ing and A chi ec u e
Depa emen o Elec omechanical, Sys ems and Me al Enginee ing
Ene gy & Sys ems Lab, Ene gy and Clus e Managemen
[email p o ec ed]
Vol a Building, Tech Lane Ghen Science Pa k - Campus A
Technologiepa k-Zwijnaa de 131, Ghen B-9052, Belgium
www.ugen .be
Oc obe 2025
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ABSTRACT
Ea ly 2025 he Eu opean Commission launched he Clean Indus ial Deal o ein igo a e he
compe i i eness o Eu ope's indus y. One o he ou es ocuses on p o iding low-ca bon ene gy
solu ions whils s aying ue o he Commission's clima e neu ali y ambi ion. Ene gy-in ensi e indus ies
(EIIs) a e c ucial o his ansi ion since hey ep esen one- i h o Eu ope's g eenhouse gas emissions.
Howe e , since he ene gy c isis, ene gy cos s a e he bigges challenge o EIIs in Eu ope, and in
addi ion, he ansi ion owa ds ne ze o b ings plen y o unce ain y due o o ced new p oduc ion ou es
and auxilia y se ices. One o he le e s o educe ene gy p ices, in pa icula low-ca bon ene gy cos s,
is o lowe he long- e m in es men isk, and key o educe ene gy consump ion is p ocess op imisa ion,
no only o EIIs bu also o policymake s and ene gy in es o s.
To guide policy and indus y decision-make s on in as uc u e o business planning, he e is a
s ong necessi y o an icipa e ene gy needs. Howe e , assessing cu en and u u e indus ial ene gy
consump ion is challenging due o con iden iali y and/o lack o da a. The AIDRES epo (Ad ancing
indus ial deca bonisa ion by assessing he u u e use o enewable ene gies in indus ial p ocesses)
[1] published by DG Ene gy in 2022, add esses his da a gap by using bluep in s o key p ocess
indus ies: s eel, chemical, glass, e ine ies, e ilise s and cemen . Indus y bluep in s a e in oduced
in he H2020 p ojec EPOS [2], p o iding a gene ic desc ip ion o an indus ial p ocess associa ed wi h
a inal p oduc , by calcula ing ma e ial and ene gy needs pe onne o p oduc ou pu . These alues can
be p ojec ed a he Eu opean le el using p oduc ion a es o indus ial si es o ob ain he o al amoun
o ene gy o onne o ma e ial (e.g. c ude oil, biomass, hyd ogen). F om his da abase a ious pa hways
can be applied o loca e ene gy demand hubs o plan supply se ices. This way he RES2Go ool
esponds o he eques om Eu opean policymake s o add ess clus e scena io lexibili y while o e ing
a high le el o g anula i y.
This pape in oduces he use - iendly RES2Go web ool, de eloped in collabo a ion wi h DG
ENER unde supe ision o an indus y e lec ion boa d, and published as JRC da ase s [3]. I p ojec s
p e-made o sel -designed ansi ion pa hways o suppo indus ial si es and hubs in Eu ope. The pape
highligh s he po en ial o RES2Go as decision-suppo ool in companies, indus y hubs, o
policymake s and in es o s, by assessing ene gy demand/supply op ions ac oss Eu ope. The web ool
o e s a wide ange o ea u es designed o mee he cu en and u u e expec a ions o any ene gy
ac o , wi h he aim o p o iding local ene gy solu ions and hus suppo ing he compe i i eness o he
ene gy-in ensi e indus y in Eu ope.
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Table o Con en s
Abs ac ....................................................................................................................... 2
In oduc ion ................................................................................................................. 4
1 RES2Go ................................................................................................................. 5
1.1 Backbone da abase: AIDRES ...................................................................................... 6
1.2 F om AIDRES o RES2Go ............................................................................................ 7
1.3 RES2Go modules ....................................................................................................... 8
1.3.1 Pa hway module ..................................................................................................................... 8
1.3.2 Clus e ing modules ................................................................................................................. 9
1.3.3 Times se ies .......................................................................................................................... 13
1.4 RES2Go ou pu ........................................................................................................ 13
1.4.1 Pa hway ou pu .................................................................................................................... 14
1.4.2 Spa ial and clus e ou pu ..................................................................................................... 15
1.4.3 Local RES supply .................................................................................................................... 17
2 Discussion ........................................................................................................... 18
3 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 20
Re e ences .................................................................................................................. 22
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INTRODUCTION
On 20 Feb ua y 2024, he An we p Decla a ion o a Eu opean Indus ial Deal [4] s essed c ucial
poin s o ene gy-in ensi e indus y (EII) acing he pos -2022 ene gy c isis [5]. Among hem, ene gy
compe i i eness is o key impo ance since EIIs gene a e a ound 20% o he Eu ope’s GDP [6]. They
a e also in ol ed in many s a egic alue chains including de ence o heal h, as well as in he
de elopmen o clean echnologies such as ba e ies o pho o ol aic cells [7] [6]. To keep he ounda ion
indus y compe i i e in Eu ope is he e o e i al o he Commission, pa icula ly in he ligh o eaching
ne ze o in 2050. Wi hin his con ex , ene gy supply has become essen ial o policy de elopmen , as
explici ly add essed in he Eu opean Clean Indus ial Deal (CID) published on 26 Feb ua y 2025 [8]. I
includes he Ac ion Plan o A o dable Ene gy ha ocuses on he elec ici y p ice by encou aging an
upg ade o in as uc u e o enhance in e connec i i y and suppo he Eu opean single ma ke . In
addi ion, he Indus ial Deca bonisa ion Accele a o Ac [9] aims o imp o e p edic abili y by enhancing
he use o da abases by decision-make s and hus o d i e in as uc u e in es men s.
In his con ex , he abili y o p edic and assess he consequences o indus ial pa hways is c ucial
o guiding in es men decisions. Unce ain y plays a signi ican ole o companies, and one way o
educe associa ed isks is h ough sha ed in es men and collabo a ion. This o m o coope a ion is
known as indus y clus e ing, s udied o 25 yea s a he Ene gy and Clus e Managemen esea ch
g oup a Ghen Uni e si y, and now being highligh ed by bo h D aghi [10] and he Eu opean Round
Table o Indus y (ERT) [6] as a key enable o he ene gy ansi ion.
This pape add esses he abo e opics by ocusing on indus ial clus e s o ad ance he concep o
ene gy hubs ac oss Eu ope. Indeed, clus e ing ene gy supply and demand is essen ial o he success ul
deploymen o clean ene gy in as uc u e, by o e ing new oppo uni ies o indus y o in es , sha e
isks, op imise demand and call o supply [11]. Fo ins ance, he T anze o Ini ia i e — Po o
Go henbu g, Sweden — demons a es how common in e es in ene gy in as uc u e is le e aged in
o de o educe in es men needs and isks [12]. S ill such ini ia i es mainly exis a he local le el,
esul ing om a bo om-up p ocess, which o en p e en s o ocus on la ge -scale in es men s. A
Eu opean spa ial da abase encompassing he ene gy demand o hea y indus ies, combined wi h a
clus e ing app oach, can be used o assess he po en ial o high-le el indus ial symbiosis. This is one
o he key pilla s in DG ENER's mission [13] ollowing he D aghi epo [10].
The RES2Go ool is designed o se e ha pu pose and is he ocus o he p esen pape . A e
in oducing he co e da abase, AIDRES [14], an o e iew o he main modules is gi en, and he key
ou comes as well as applica ion oppo uni ies o he RES2Go ool a e discussed.
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1 RES2GO
RES2Go is an open-sou ce, in e ac i e web ool o suppo indus ial emission educ ion by
clus e ing ene gy demand and p o iding low-ca bon ene gy solu ions. RES2Go assesses he need o
ene gy in indus ial p ocesses and clus e s ac oss Eu ope. While independen o he sou ce, a ocus
on enewable ene gy is easily con igu ed and also a p ojec ed geo-localisa ion o clus e supply is a
ea u e o he ool. The in e ace is designed wi h use accessibili y in mind. The so wa e is de eloped
using S eamli [15], which o e s an in ui i e in e ace added wi h open access and easy deploymen .
The diag am in Figu e 1 shows he logic behind he RES2Go ool, wi h he main modules in blue boxes.
Figu e 1: Rela ionship low cha o RES2Go ool
• The pa hway module de ines he scope by selec ing sec o s and p oduc s om AIDRES o
by adding new ones. The ou pu o his module is he speci ic ene gy consump ion pe
onne o p oduc o a gi en pa hway.
• The clus e ing module hen uses hese speci ic ene gy pa ame e s in combina ion wi h
spa ial da a om AIDRES. Fo newly added p oduc s ha lack spa ial da a, hei
implemen a ion is handled h ough he clus e -le el submodule. Since he absolu e
consump ion o ene gy ca ie s is spa ially loca ed, he use can choose among se e al
clus e ing algo i hms. This module p o ides consump ion in o ma ion agg ega ed a clus e
le el, which can ei he be isualised using maps (mapping ou pu ) o used in he clus e -
le el submodule o edi and/o add new p oduc s o a selec ed clus e . Insigh s in o he
ene gy ca ie s sha ed wi hin clus e s can be isualised in he ene gy ca ie s (g een box)
ep esen a ion.
• Finally, he ime se ies module in eg a es he spa ial loca ion and elec ici y consump ion o
each clus e wi h indus ial load p o iles (ELMAS), he local echnical po en ial o enewable
ene gy sou ces (ENSPRESO), and his o ical local hou ly gene a ion da a o onsho e wind
and sola (EMHIRES) o es ima e he enewable ene gy po en ial associa ed wi h a clus e .
As ENSPRESO p o ides h ee scena ios, he use can selec one o compa e he impac
o s ong e sus low enewable ene gy implemen a ion.
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1.1 Backbone da abase: AIDRES
To suppo he spa ial assessmen o indus ial emission educ ion pa hways, only a ew da abases
o e de ailed, si e-speci ic ene gy demand da a. Among hese, only Ho maps [16] and AIDRES p o ide
spa ially esol ed in o ma ion ele an o he analysis p esen ed in his pape . While Ho maps p esen s
aluable insigh s in o indus ial hea demand, i lacks o wa d-looking pa hways and p ocess-le el
de ail. In con as , AIDRES ocuses on bo h cu en and u u e indus ial echnologies and p oduc ion
p ocesses, making i mo e sui able as basis o building indus ial ene gy scena ios wi h spa ial
ou comes.
De eloped in 2022 by he AIDRES conso ium, assigned by he Eu opean Commission, he
AIDRES da abase includes si e-le el da a on ene gy consump ion, CO₂ emissions, and p oduc ion
capaci ies o 1,536 indus ial si es ac oss Eu ope, co e ing six ene gy-in ensi e sec o s: s eel,
chemicals, e ine ies, e ilise s, glass, and cemen . Each sec o is ep esen ed by one o mo e gene ic
p oduc s (e.g. ole ins, polye hylene, polye hyl-ace a e in he chemical sec o [17]).
Pe p oduc , se e al p oduc ion ou es a e de eloped based on di e en eeds ocks, ene gy
ca ie s, and deca bonisa ion echnologies (e.g. elec i ica ion, CCUS, hyd ogen). These ou es we e
modelled using bluep in s gene a ed in ASPEN [18] [19] and OSMOSE [20] de eloped o he EPOS
p ojec , unde Uni e si y o Ghen ECM coo dina ion [2]. Bluep in s simula e indus ial p ocesses using
anonymised bu ealis ic da a, enabling he calcula ion o speci ic ene gy and CO₂ emission alues pe
onne o p oduc — e e ed o he e as p oduc ion ou e pa ame e s.
AIDRES iden i ies 218 p oduc ion ou es ac oss he six sec o s. These ou es se e as he building
blocks o cons uc ing pa hways, which combine one o mo e ou es ac oss sec o s o es ima e
agg ega ed ene gy demand and emissions. By p ojec ing p oduc ion ou e pa ame e s on o indi idual
si es (based on p oduc ype and p oduc ion capaci y), i becomes possible o es ima e si e-le el and
EU-wide ene gy and emissions p o iles. In cases whe e mul iple ou es exis o one p oduc , AIDRES
applies weigh ed a e ages o e lec unce ain y in u u e echnology adop ion — an app oach ha
imp o es egional compa abili y bu limi s accu acy a he indi idual si e le el.
The spa ial componen o AIDRES is es ablished by linking he EU ETS ins alla ion-le el da a (EUTL
[21]) wi h he E-PRTR da abase [22], which p o ides coo dina es, sec o classi ica ion, and emissions
da a. A e applying e i ica ion il e s, ins alla ions a e agg ega ed pe indus ial si e, acknowledging
ha a single company may ope a e se e al ins alla ions a one loca ion. P oduc ion capaci ies a e
compiled using a combina ion o public da a om indus y ede a ions (e.g. EUROFER [23], Concawe
[24]), de aul alues o smalle si es based on Pa e o analysis [25], and emission ac o s om he
li e a u e.
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1.2 F om AIDRES o RES2Go
While AIDRES p o ides a aluable basis o modelling indus ial ene gy scena ios, i p esen s
se e al limi a ions ha cons ain he di ec applica ion and he capaci y o upda e. Fi s ly, wo king wi h
he da abase equi es ad anced echnical skills, pa icula ly in coding. New pa hways o scena io
adap a ions can only be implemen ed by modi ying SQL iles [26], which limi s he usabili y by non-
expe use s and es ic s he inclusion o eme ging echnologies o new p oduc ion p ocesses.
Fu he mo e, he unde lying assump ions o AIDRES a e inc easingly ou da ed. The e e ence yea
o all da a and scena ios is 2018, which is be o e Eu ope en e ed a deep down u n. O e he pas i e
yea s he Eu opean indus y has aced a se ies o g and challenges, a i s he COVID-19 pandemic,
hen he wa in Uk aine, and subsequen ly he ene gy and economic c ises, which signi ican ly cu he
compe i i eness o Eu ope's ounda ion indus y. As a esul , he h ee scena ios de eloped in AIDRES
— EU-MIX 2050 (clima e-neu al a ge ), and wo in e media e 2030 and 2040 pa hways — no longe
ully e lec he cu en echnological and economic landscape. S ill he base yea 2018 can be kep as
e e ence yea p o ided lexibili y in se ing scena ios and implemen ing (new) echnologies can be
gua an eed [27].
Fo example, back in 2020 hyd ogen was designa ed as a s a egic p io i y by he Eu opean
Commission [28], and he AIDRES 2050 pa hway acco dingly in eg a es hyd ogen-based p ocesses
o sec o s such as s eel, chemicals and glass. Howe e , mo e ecen analyses, such as he IEA’s 2024
Hyd ogen Ou look [29], cas unce ain y on he pace and scale o hyd ogen deploymen . This highligh s
he challenge o main aining scena io ele ance amid e ol ing policies, ma ke s, and echnological
ends.
In addi ion, he s uc u e o AIDRES es ic s lexibili y in modelling. The da abase does no cu en ly
allow o adding new p oduc ion ou es, no o including no el p oduc s o ins alla ions. This limi a ion
is especially no able in he chemicals sec o , which is highly complex and includes mul iple ups eam
and downs eam p ocesses. AIDRES ep esen s his sec o by jus h ee p oduc s: polye hylene (PE),
polye hylace a e, and ole ins, he e o e o e looking majo emission o ene gy consump ion sou ces.
Ano he signi ican cons ain is he lack o empo al esolu ion. AIDRES ou pu s a e exp essed as
annual a e age ene gy alues pe p oduc , which p ecludes any ime se ies analysis. This is a c i ical
limi a ion in ene gy sys ems inc easingly elian on a iable enewable ene gy sou ces (RES), whe e
hou ly o seasonal p o iles a e essen ial o assessing sys em lexibili y and in es men needs.
Tempo al modelling is pa icula ly impo an o e alua ing mid- e m ag eemen s such as powe
pu chase ag eemen s (PPAs) and o he ene gy asse s [30].
Despi e hese limi a ions, AIDRES emains a obus and ho ough da ase ha can se e as a s ong
basis o mo e dynamic and use -cen ed ools. RES2Go is de eloped p ecisely o o e come hese
ba ie s — by imp o ing accessibili y, enabling scena io edi ing, in eg a ing ime se ies da a, and
expanding he scope o p oduc s and con igu a ions hough he modules p esen ed in he low cha
(Figu e 1) and explained below.
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1.3 RES2Go modules
The modules aim o e ec i ely add ess how indus ial clus e s can con ibu e o achie ing clima e
neu ali y in p ocess indus ies [31] as well help o enhance compe i i eness as men ioned in he D aghi
epo [10]. The i s wo modules, which consis o de eloping a pa hway and p ojec ing he pa hway
o alloca e and clus e ene gy consump ion, ocus exclusi ely on demand. These modules only p o ide
annual ene gy consump ion and spa ial da a. Howe e , discussions wi h indus ial s akeholde s ha e
emphasised he impo ance o he empo al dimension, bo h o indus ial demand and enewable
ene gy gene a ion. The ime se ies module add esses his by aligning demand wi h local enewable
ene gy supply.
The RES2Go modules le e age open da abases, on he one hand by in eg a ing and analysing
hem using insigh ul clus e ing algo i hms, and on he o he hand by allowing use inpu o adap he
esul s o speci ic equi emen s
1.3.1 Pa hway module
The con igu a ion o pa hways in RES2Go elies on a single able om he AIDRES da abase. I
p o ides inpu da a on ene gy, eeds ock, and emissions pe onne o p oduc o all p oduc ion ou es.
Table 1 p o ides an example o a p oduc ion ou e used o he polye hylene. F om hese da a, a
pa hway can be de eloped in h ee ways: by s a ing om a p e-de ined pa hway such as he EU-MIX
om AIDRES, by c ea ing a new pa hway om sc a ch, o by uploading a p e iously made pa hway.
The la e op ion allows o use a single pa hway in mul iple sessions. In all cases, he RES2Go in e ace
enables use s o selec and add p oduc ion ou es ac oss di e en sec o s, adjus he associa ed
weigh s, and edi he aw da a o ene gy use, eeds ock inpu , and CO₂ emissions pe onne, di ec
and indi ec . When mul iple p oduc ion ou es a e selec ed o a single p oduc , he module calcula es
he weigh ed a e age o all ele an pa ame e s as highligh ed in Table 2. The polye hylene (PE) ou e
is he combina ion o all PE p oduc ion ou es, using na u al gas (NG), hyd ogen (H2) o elec ici y (EL).
Table 1: Polye hylene (chemical) na u al gas p oduc ion ou e pa ame e s om AIDRES
Rou e
name
Elec ici y
(GJ/ )
Hyd ogen
(GJ/ )
Na u al gas
(GJ/ )
Hyd ogen
( / )
Na u al
gas ( / )
To al emission
(TC02/ )
PE (NG)
0.4923
0.00597
0.29048
0.00005
0.00593
0.05004
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Table 2: Weigh ed a e age ene gy consump ion o polye hylene om AIDRES EU-MIX-2050
Rou e name
Elec ici y
(GJ/ )
Hyd ogen
(GJ/ )
Na u al
gas (GJ/ )
To al
emission
(TC02/ )
Weigh
(%)
PE-MEA (NG)
0.50
0.0059
0.3044
0.0209
31.30
PE (H2)
0.49
0.31
0.00
0.0164
34.35
PE (EL)
0.75
0.01
0.00
0.0249
34.35
Weigh ed
a e age
ene gy
PE
0.58
0.11
0.09
0.02
To c ea e a new p oduc ion ou e, he use can ei he c ea e a new p oduc wi hin an AIDRES sec o
o c ea e a new sec o . This ea u e allows o include echnologies o p ocesses ha a e no co e ed
in he o iginal AIDRES da abase, suppo ing g ea e lexibili y in de ining scena ios. Once a pa hway is
de ined, he algo i hm p ojec s he p oduc ion ou e pa ame e s (pe onne o p oduc ) on o
co esponding indus ial si es o ob ain absolu e alues o ene gy consump ion, eeds ock use, and
CO₂ emissions a he si e le el
These pa hways o m he building block o he subsequen module, which p ojec s ene gy and
emission alues pe onne o p oduc on o indus ial si es ac oss Eu ope and enables clus e ing based
on si e-le el cha ac e is ics.
1.3.2 Clus e ing modules
Nex o pa hway scena ios o indus ies and sec o s, RES2Go also p o ides he op ion o isualise
hubs o (ene gy) op imisa ion and ( esou ce) ci cula i y. I is well-known ha indus ial clus e ing has
signi ican un apped po en ial and combining i wi h enewable ene gy a ailabili y can s eng hen he
Eu opean ene gy sys em, as desc ibed by Dhond e al. [32]. This ea u e uses a second key able
compiled in he AIDRES p ojec : a da abase o indus ial si es and cha ac e is ics, such as name,
loca ion, associa ed p oduc s and p oduc ion capaci y pe si e wi hin he AIDRES scope.
I a p oduc ion alue is assigned o a si e, his is in e p e ed as capaci y and mul iplied by he
sec o al u ilisa ion a e o es ima e p oduc ion. Subsequen ly, ollowing he clus e ing algo i hm ou lined
below, he ene gy demand pe si e is agg ega ed by clus e and ounded o wo signi ican igu es.
Wi h p oduc ion es ima es assigned o each si e, use s can selec and con igu e a clus e ing
algo i hm o op imise in e - ela ions be ween indus ies and sec o s in Eu ope. In he i s e sion o
RES2Go, ou algo i hms, based on DBSCAN [33] and KMeans [34], a e implemen ed using he Sciki -
lea n lib a y. They a e selec ed o hei demons a ed ele ance in indus ial clus e ing applica ions, as
highligh ed by Mendez e al. in he H4C p ojec [35].
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Figu e 8: Map ou pu om RES2Go wi h DBSCAN min poin s = 5 and max dis ance = 22km o EU-MIX-2018 and EU-MIX-2050
Figu e 9: Map ou pu si es colou ed by clus e om RES2Go wi h DBSCAN min poin s = 5 and max dis ance = 22km.
Absolu e alues pe si e and pe clus e can be p esen ed in a able. This is mean o in o m
poli icians as well as ene gy ac o s on hubs and nodes wi h high-po en ial impac on he clima e and
ene gy ansi ion. In addi ion, i is possible o ocus on one o se e al coun ies in case s udies, o
ins ance by downloading a CSV ile including ene gy demand, loca ion and indus y name o he
selec ed coun ies o clus e s.
By selec ing a clus e pie cha , addi ional isualisa ions o he ene gy ca ie dis ibu ion in he
clus e can be accessed. The cha s include a ee-map (Figu e 10) o explici he sha e pe ene gy
ca ie and a Sankey diag am showing he low o ene gy ca ie s owa ds he espec i e sec o s (Figu e
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11). A downloadable CSV able is p o ided as op ion, lis ing all si es wi h hei espec i e ene gy
consump ion, p oduc ion le els, and u ilisa ion a es. In addi ion, da a on clus e s, si es, and p oduc ion
capaci ies can be expo ed o edi ing wi h clus e le el module in he Clus e – mic o scale sec ion o
he ool.
Figu e 10: Ene gy ca ie s ee map compa ison o Po o An we p clus e EU-MIX-2018 (3000 PJ/y) and EU-MIX-2050 (32000 PJ/y)
Figu e 11: Ene gy ca ie s Sankey diag am o he Po o An we p using EU-MIX-2050 (32000 PJ/y). The node and s eams size is p opo ional o he
co esponding ene gy ca ie ’s consump ion o each sec o and p oduc .
1.4.3 Local RES supply
The elec ici y consump ion o a clus e o si e may be known; howe e , his in o ma ion is ypically
epo ed as an annual olume. As highligh ed in he li e a u e, inco po a ing he empo al dimension is
c ucial when assessing he in eg a ion o in e mi en ene gy sou ces o indus ial si es o clus e s.
The e o e, i is aluable o e alua e and compa e supply and demand h ough ime se ies analysis as
shown on Figu e 12.
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Figu e 12: Indus ial demand & onsho e wind and sola ime p o ile wi h EU-MIX-2050 wi h p oduc ion a e o 100% o all sec o s.
This unc ionali y enables use s o assess he p opo ion o clus e demand ha can be me by
onsho e wind and sola elec ici y supply wi hin a gi en NUTS2 o na ional egion, bo h in e ms o o al
olume and hou ly gene a ion p o iles. This can suppo business de elope s in e alua ing he po en ial
need o g id, s o age solu ions o baseload capaci y such as SMR [44]. The his o ical da a om
EMHIRES enables use s o conduc deepe analyses based on yea s ha a e a ou able o no o
enewable ene gy gene a ion. Complemen a y in o ma ion o his kind can be ound in he ‘Renewable
ene gy esou ces’ sec ion o he Eu opean s a e o he clima e epo s [45].
Finally, his ea u e p o ides a compa ison be ween he isola ed clus e and he local enewable
ene gy gene a ion, wi hou accoun ing o o he sec o s o clus e s wi hin he NUTS-2 egion. This
implies ha u he analysis o he load p o ile is equi ed om he use , o be ma ched wi h he ene gy
supply da a. Access o da a is key o indus ial symbiosis; his is g an ed ei he di ec ly by he indus y
and ene gy sec o , ia public da ase s o embedded in scien i ic ools.
2 DISCUSSION
The RES2Go ool assesses and add esses he u u e o clean ene gy in indus ial p ocesses and
clus e s in Eu ope, wi h a ocus on a iable enewable ene gy. The ool esul s om expe ise buil o e
25 yea s o clus e managemen esea ch a Ghen Uni e si y. Li ing in symbiosis and wo king in
syne gy o c ea e win-win si ua ions is o all imes, in socie y as well as indus y [46] [47]. Mu ualisa ion
is he co e p inciple o economies o scale and scope. S a ing om business pa k managemen , o e
eco-indus ial pa ks, local s eam ne wo ks and g een po a eas, o c oss-sec o al and u ban-indus ial
symbiosis, ECM ga he ed he knowledge and de eloped he skills o build models and ools in suppo
o ma ching policy ambi ions and indus y challenges in he ansi ion owa ds clima e and esou ce
neu ali y [48], [49], [50]. Dynamic models a e essen ial o answe he challenges o an economy in
ansi ion. Mo eo e , in imes o c isis indus ial ealism is a key d i e o any ool o ecas ing pa hways
owa ds neu ali y in a 25-yea ime span. RES2Go p o ides he lexibili y o ailo indus y as well as
policy objec i es, he abili y o cus omise indica o s, add p oduc s and sec o s, ma ch local supply and
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ene gy in as uc u e; and i has he use - iendliness o isualise clus e ing po en ial on a local, egional
o Eu opean scale.
S ill, he RES2Go ool has plen y o oom o imp o emen and expansion. Th ee main a eas a e
co e ed below.
• Fi s ly, he unde lying da abases come wi h cons ain s. While AIDRES co e s he highes -
emi ing sec o s wi h signi ican clus e ing po en ial, i does no include all ene gy-in ensi e
indus ies. Fo example, he pulp and pape sec o is missing, e en hough i con ibu es
subs an ially o Eu ope's emissions (see Figu e 13). This also applies o he ce amics and
e ac o y sec o s. Mo eo e , hose sec o s a e c ucial o Eu ope's compe i i eness, as hey
a e all highly p oduc i e and p o-ac i e in de eloping low-ca bon solu ions.
Figu e 13: Clus e and emission sha es o majo indus ial sec o s, wi h AIDRES sec o s shown in bold. DBSCAN clus e ing pa ame e s:
minimum si es = 5, minimum dis ance = 25 km. Emission da a om JRC-EIGL [51] ETS/E-PRTR [21], [22].
The gaps also ex end o enewable ene gy gene a ion and indus ial load p o iles. These
p o iles a e based on his o ical da a and o en don' e lec eme ging o u u e p ocesses.
Fo ins ance, elec ici y use in he s eel sec o unde he e e ence pa hway in ol ing elec ic
a c u naces (EAF) may di e signi ican ly om al e na i e elec i ica ion pa hways using
mol en oxide elec olysis (MOE). While RES2Go allows use s o upda e inpu s manually,
add essing hese gaps ully will depend on he elease o upda ed da a in he li e a u e.
• Secondly, he cu en clus e ing algo i hms ely p ima ily on spa ial p oximi y. This app oach
is app op ia e when dealing wi h physical ene gy ca ie s such as hyd ogen o biomass,
whe e dis ance signi ican ly a ec s easibili y. Howe e , when i comes o elec ici y, spa ial
clus e ing becomes mo e complex. Elec ici y ne wo ks al eady connec mul iple indus ial
si es, and building new ansmission lines is expensi e, while le e aging exis ing
in as uc u e is o en mo e cos -e ec i e. Fo his eason, i would be bene icial o
inco po a e g id connec i i y in o he clus e ing algo i hm. Fo example, wo nea by si es (A
and B) cu en ly assigned o di e en clus e s (Y and Z) may be mo e app op ia ely g ouped
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oge he i hey sha e an elec ical connec ion, a he han being ea ed as sepa a e A–Y
and B–Z clus e s. This is cu en ly ongoing wo k wi h he implemen a ion o he g id model
PyPSA-Eu [52]
• Thi dly, while RES2Go aims o p o ide agili y, he e is a ade-o be ween lexibili y and
use - iendliness. As mo e p oduc s and indus ial si es a e added, he ool isks becoming
mo e complex and less in ui i e [53]. To mi iga e his, RES2Go allows use s o download
p e-de ined pa hway and clus e iles, which can se e as empla es o s a ing poin s o
u he cus omisa ion.
3 CONCLUSION
The RES2Go ool p o ides an accessible in e ace o assess indus ial ene gy demand unde
a ious emission educ ion scena ios ailo ed o speci ic local indus ial and ene gy se ings. One o he
key s eng hs o he ool lies in i s lexibili y: use s can cus omise oadmaps by adjus ing indus ial
pa hways de i ed om, o ex ending beyond, he AIDRES da abase. In addi ion, he clus e ing module
builds on his unc ionali y by iden i ying and analysing ene gy hubs ac oss Eu ope using mul iple
algo i hmic app oaches. These clus e s can hen be e ined by inco po a ing new si es and p oduc s,
o emo ing ac i i ies in case o educed p oduc ion, allowing o an ac ual ep esen a ion o he
indus ial oo p in and imp o ing insigh in o local ene gy use. To his pu pose he ool p esen s se e al
key pe o mance indica o s (KPIs) o e alua e selec ed pa hways, including CO₂ educ ion po en ial,
o al ene gy demand, and he a ailabili y o local low-ca bon ene gy supply — all while inco po a ing
empo al p o iles o ene gy use.
The key ambi ion o RES2Go is o be agile while obus and use - iendly while holis ic. The use o
p e-de ined pa hways is an in e es ing ea u e o guide use s wi h es ablished scena ios (e.g. Ma e ial
Economics [45], DG CLIMA [54] o Na ional Ene gy and Clima e Plans (NECP) [55]. Fo his eason,
egula upda es o he ool a e planned o ensu e he in eg a ion o new pa hways and ac i i ies, o
ins ance indus ial pa hway om he IEA [56] a e al eady in eg a ed.
As an open-sou ce pla o m, RES2Go is designed o e ol e. Fu u e de elopmen s could also
include he in eg a ion o g id- ela ed cons ain s, o example h ough coupling wi h he PyPSA-Eu
model. Addi ionally, upda ing and expanding he AIDRES da abase, bo h in e ms o ecen da a and
sec o al scope, would u he enhance he ool’s ele ance and applicabili y. O he ene gy-in ensi e
indus ies like pulp and pape , ce amics and e ac o y sec o s a e on he ada , and u he
collabo a ion wi h A.SPIRE P ocesses o Plane is ini ia ed [57]. RES2Go aims o os e clus e ing and
knowledge sha ing ac oss indus ies, bo h wi hin and be ween hubs. This aligns wi h he Ho izon
Eu ope ini ia i e Hubs o Ci cula i y (H4C) [58] and i s Eu opean Communi y o P ac ice (ECoP) [59],
which seek o enhance ci cula i y and indus ial symbiosis.
The s eng h o he ool lies in i s abili y o assess demand wi h high spa ial g anula i y, based on
he p oduc ion capaci y o indi idual indus ial si es, while allowing he use o in eg a e and en ich he
backbone da a o os e clus e ing. An imp o emen would be o alloca e pa hways o speci ic a eas.
This unc ionali y could be u he de eloped, o example, by challenging he NECPs o each coun y
and analysing demand a he na ional le el o in o m assessmen s o he Eu opean ene gy sys em.
Mo eo e , he app oach o alloca ing speci ic pa hways o de ined a eas could be op imised in o de o
p omo e indus ial symbiosis and assign p oduc ion ou es acco ding o a ailable esou ces (e.g. H₂ o
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NG hubs) o he p esence o eme ging clean echnologies (e.g. CCUS, H2 elec olyse s). Wi h his
app oach, pa hways would no only se e as inpu bu also become an op imised ou pu o RES2Go,
he eby be e e lec ing eal-wo ld condi ions. Finally, he ime gene a ion module could ake in o
accoun o he sec o s and neighbou ing clus e s o enable a mo e comp ehensi e compa ison o he
clus e impac on he local ene gy sys em. As he ool aims o each a b oad audience, including policy
as well as indus y, he op ion o impo indus ial load p o iles is conside ed a pa icula ly ele an
ea u e.
RES2Go aims o b ing oge he se e al da abases in o one ool in o de o showcase how indus y
clus e s can suppo indus ial symbiosis, ad ance ene gy e iciency, and os e u u e in es men s in
line wi h he D aghi epo [10] and i s implemen a ion, a pa icula mission o DG ENER [13]. To his
end he ool a ge s use s in all h ee pilla s o he ansi ion: policymake s, esea che s, and indus y
s akeholde s.
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