Integrated Energy Systems: The Engine for Energy Transition

Summary

Addressing climate change is one of the most important drivers for national energy policies worldwide by defining the urgent need to decarbonize energy systems through mitigating their environmental impacts. The needed energy transition brings many challenges and opportunities, and a significant progress is necessary so that today's energy systems change toward satisfying the needs of the society and the economy by becoming as environmentally sustainable as possible. Achieving this goal requires fully integrated energy systems able to supply low‐carbon energy for all sectors from different energy sources, while integrating multiple energy carriers and exploiting the synergies coming from this interplay. An integrated energy system can be seen as “a system of systems,” namely, an integrated infrastructure for all energy carriers with the electrical system as a backbone, characterized by a high level of integration between all networks of energy carriers, coupling electrical networks with gas networks, heating, and cooling, supported by energy storage and conversion processes. In this new energy paradigm, citizens become active consumers and prosumers using local and user‐friendly energy exchanges, as well as peer‐to‐peer exchanges, for a wide range of services and optimal energy prices. This chapter discusses the concept of integrated energy systems as the engine for the energy transition by analyzing the challenges and opportunities to move to low‐carbon energy systems, as well as the enabling technologies and paradigms for such systems as storage and power conversion and the empowerment of final users.