Tools for the Design and modelling of new markets and negotiation mechanisms for a ~100% Renewable European Power System The objective of this project is to develop and test an innovative electricity market design that can meet society’s needs in a (near) 100% renewable power system. Such a long-term sustainable market design needs to provide efficient operational and investment incentives for an electricity system that is characterized by a high share of variable renewable energy sources, that is highly integrated with sectors such as home heating and cooling and transport, and needs to provide efficient incentives for the participation of all demand, from households to industrial consumers. It needs to provide security of supply by ensuring sufficient controllable electricity generation capacity without becoming too costly. And despite the variability of solar and wind energy the price risk must be limited: for investors, so the cost of capital does not become too high, and for consumers so they are not exposed to unmanageable swings in their energy expenses. In this project, a market design will be developed that meets these objectives. It will be tested in a sophisticated simulation environment in which real-world characteristics such as actors’ limited foresight into the future and risk aversion are included. The performance of the market design - with respect to quantitative indicators such as security of supply, average costs to consumers and investment cost recovery - will be compared to a benchmark calculation of an optimal power system, which will also be developed in this project. We will involve representatives of all key stakeholder groups - consumers, large and small power generators, network operators and government in all phases of the process, in the market design as well as the development of the optimization and simulation models, in order to ensure the social acceptability of the research process and outcomes.

Through a multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary and participatory process, ECF4CLIM develops, tests and validates a European Competence Framework (ECF) for transformational change, which will empower the educational community to take action against climate change and towards sustainable development. Applying a novel hybrid participatory approach, rooted in participatory action research and citizen science, ECF4CLIM co-designs the ECF in selected schools and universities, by: 1) elaborating an initial ECF, supported by crowdsourcing of ideas and analysis of existing ECFs; 2) establishing the baseline of individual and collective competences, as well as environmental performance indicators; 3) implementing practical, replicable and context-adapted technical, behavioural, and organisational interventions that foster the acquisition of competences; 4) evaluating the ability of the interventions to strengthen sustainability competences and environmental performance; and 5) validating the ECF. The proposed ECF is unique in that it encompasses the interacting STEM-related, digital and social competences, and systematically explores individual, organisational and institutional factors that enable or constrain the desired change. The novel hybrid participatory approach provides the broad educational community with: an ECF adaptable to a range of settings; new ways of collaboration between public, private and third-sector bodies; and innovative organisational models of engagement and action for sustainability (Sustainability Competence Teams and Committees). To encourage learning-by-doing, several novel tools will be co-designed with and made available to citizens, including a digital platform for crowdsourcing, IoT solutions for real-time monitoring of selected parameters, and a digital learning space. Participation of various SMEs in the consortium maximises the broad adoption and applicability of the ECF for the required transformational change towards sustainability.