Energy storage systems (ESS) are expected to be one of the main pillars for a future renewable based power system. Since all sectors are electrifying and variable renewable energy (VRE) is being deployed more quickly than transmission and distribution operators are able to connect them to the electricity grid. Flexible capacity on multiple positions along the electricity value chain is needed to maintain stability of the network. However, the original design of the grid was not based on decentralized and variable generation. Together with uncertain regulations that are not up-to-date with innovations in the grid. Results in multiple barriers that the ESS needs to overcome and therefore have not been widely integrated yet. Since investment decisions by decision-makers are not only based on technical and economic features but also on social and environmental features better insight in the impact of different power system design is needed. Several studies have been performed on the tech-economic modelling of singular ESS services, often using perfect foresight for prices and market behavior for different parts of the electricity value chain. This work presents foundation for valuation of ESS for industrial sites in the Netherlands in a future scenario with large increase of VRE in the energy mix. Since energy systems are highly complex systems. Modelling and simulation is performed to get a better understanding of the system by simplifying interactions and functional relations within the industrial power system. Hence, the model provides insights that help to reevaluate the power operation of an industrial cluster. As a result it helps to reshape the power system investment strategy for the future. Considering that ESS are multi-applications this study analyses how different operations strategies including multiple services influence the performance of the industrial power system. The operation strategies of enhancing self-consumption (greedy) and peak shaving are compared on the following performance indicators: self-consumption, self-sufficiency, utilized and unutilized VRE, size of network connection, capacity for flexibility and influence of transit power generation. The greedy and peak shaving operations are simulated in combination with the services of providing transit power for back-up generation and ability to provide flexibility service for the imbalance market. The model is run for three different industrial loads (scenarios) for five different configurations of either a Photo-Voltaic (PV) system or a PV system in combination with an ESS. In all scenarios, the power systems performance is better when ESS is integrated in comparison to the PV-system. In the scenarios the scoring varies considerably between the configurations, primarily due to the heterogeneity of the used load profiles. Hence, allowing to identify the characteristics of industrial load profiles more suitable for a combined PV and ESS system. The results of this study are relevant for decision-makers considering to adapt their power system design strategy by providing a better understanding of their system. It shows how different services run in parallel allow the ESS to be operated less idle. Nevertheless, should decision-makers establish operational priorities since some services can be competitive and result in a sub-additive value. Furthermore, can the findings help policy makers and utilities to see what the influence is of increased VRE generation at the industrial load side of the network on the larger system.

Commercial greenhouse gas emissions from aviation are proliferating, as is the concern among freight carriers to minimize their carbon footprint. From a corporate point of view, the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO) expects aircraft emissions to triple by 2050, with aviation accounting for 25% of the world's carbon budget . While ICAO and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) release annual overview statistics on the aviation industry and its related business economy, relatively few research data on fuel consumption, fuel quality and carbon emissions are available at global and regional levels, respectively. Policymakers and top decision-makers at transportation and logistics companies such as PostNL cannot determine the exact amount of carbon emissions associated with departing flights and needs a more robust model to determine marginal emissions due to cargo freight. To solve this problem, the research predominantly aims to answer the following research question: "How can PostNL be facilitated in calculating aircraft specific carbon emission factors, which can be used for accounting purposes, to promote sustainable purchasing and green market positioning?". Using empirical data from public, private-owned confidential data sets, and the PianoX aircraft emissions modeling, this research outlines a consistent and globally dispersed methodology for estimating CO2 emissions for air freight. An extensive review of the literature was carried out in the field of the emergence of "Sustainability Concept" and antecedent research in the Netherlands. This was followed by evaluating the current situation and the emergence of the supply chain processes. The study also describes and analyzes the operational process at PostNL and discusses the current methodology used at PostNL, i.e. DEFRA method for carbon emission calculation. Later, the flaws in the model were evaluated and addressed. Based on the review of the literature on antecedent research and the analysis of different carbon emissions calculation methodologies being used internationally in various institutions, a method was proposed for the calculation of Co2 emissions due to air freight. In order to measure commercial fuel consumption, many publicly available data sources were collected and incorporated with Piano X, an aircraft performance and design platform from Lissys Ltd. The data on the fuel-burning process and projected Co2 emissions were then compared and validated with the ICAO dataset and later implemented in the model proposed. This was followed by the creation of a conceptual simulation and optimization model build using VBA in Excel, which helps the company in making data-driven air transport procurement decisions taking into account tradeoffs between carbon emission, lead time, and cost to gain a strategic business advantage. Strategic goals were broken down into the priorities of the individual divisions at PostNL, expressed with the goal values of the lead time and the performance metrics for cargo costs. A graphical comparison was followed with the EU ETS datasets and the DEFRA datasets to compare and correlate the results obtained using the proposed methodology. The result also helps PostNL drive business sustainability in their partnerships while maintaining their flexibility and bargaining power with suppliers. The limitations and errors with the research were acknowledged in the areas of uncertainty due to the use of publically available information and the absence of the inclusion of dynamically changing time-dependent variables, including privately owned airline data. It was also concluded that logistics companies such as PostNL should always bear in mind that, often drastically, the logistics networks may shift. New ways of doing business, such as coopetition and better modeling, can help to increase effectiveness. Scenario planning and better business management approaches will have an advantage in improving the transportation and logistics industry to face the demands of the future and become ever more competitive and sustainable.

This thesis explores how the benefits and drawbacks found in previous government-citizen use cases of Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) translate to a company environment PVE use case. This research is conducted at and with the help of Liander. Liander is one of three energy distribution system operators in the Netherlands. The following research question is answered: “To what extend do the benefits of PVEs that are deployed in citizen to government context apply to the use of PVE within a company environment?”. This is done by doing exploratory research within Liander and conducting a PVE survey for their asset management department about the architectural life cycle of a compact secondary substation. Previous use cases are explored to identify the benefits and drawbacks of PVE. Agency theory is used to make a comparison between the government-citizen environment and the company environment. This comparison and the principal-agent relation is used to make predictions on the results of the survey to see if the survey produces valid data. Two of the four benefits found in previous cases translated to a company environment and the drawback translates to a lesser extent. The PVE survey used in this thesis became more complex and much more on an operational level compared to previous PVE surveys. This resulted in a smaller group of relevant participants, which directly impacted the benefits. Employees see potential to use PVE in different ways that would benefit efficiency or the flow of information. These implementations vary a lot, but for all of them the current PVE tooling is unsuitable. PVE tooling could be adapted to suit this new type of use and to increase the ease of use for companies. Further research on the exact adaptations of the PVE tooling would be needed to implement this. Future research on the use of PVE in a business environment could focus on more strategic subjects. As an example, general strategic direction could be the subject of the PVE between a company board and the company shareholders. These subjects would more closely match previous PVE cases and would help provide context for the results of this thesis.

The Dutch Government is picking up the pace in the energy transition. However, the expansion of wind generation is facing congestion challenges, and the decarbonization of household heating and agricultural mobility proves that electrification is not always an option. These challenges occur together in rural areas like Oudeschip. Hydrogen has emerged as a possible solution to the encountered problems. By producing hydrogen from the wind power and transporting the hydrogen through the natural gas infrastructure, household heating can be decarbonized without electrification. Furthermore, by converting the tractors of the local farmers to diesel-hydrogen hybrids, they can reduce their emissions. This research approaches the energy system of Oudeschip as a socio-technical system, and tackles the challenges in different sectors in an integrated manner.

Current energy concerns like growing energy demand, the desire for a clean environment and energy conservation started thrusting the society towards distributed renewable electricity generation (DG) technologies. These technologies such as PV solar, Fuel Cells (FC) and urban wind produce Direct Current (DC). The electronic equipment such as laptops, PCs, communication systems, LED lighting, batteries, Electric Vehicles (EV) and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) also operate in DC. But the present-day electricity distribution system is based on Alternating Current (AC). From this conventional system, the conversion losses can be substantial when DC generation and DC loads are operated. For which, several (DC/AC – AC/DC) conversion steps are required. These conversion losses can be mitigated by removing the intermediate conversion steps and distributing DC power to the DC loads directly. For which, the main aim of the thesis focuses on the technical and commercial potential of Low Voltage DC (LVDC) grids for buildings in the Netherlands. DC office is a small office building at The Green Village (TGV) in TU Delft where a 350 Vdc LVDC system is installed for experimental purposes. The experiments are carried out using both LVDC and LVAC grids in DC Office project. The obtained experimental data are randomized using Matlab to create a year-long load profile. The results are used for discussing the LVDC technical potential in terms of overall efficiency and energy savings. From these results cost-savings are calculated. Along with this, usage of copper and aluminum as electrical conductor in buildings and its investment cost-savings are discussed. For the commercial potential of LVDC grids for buildings in the Netherlands, the Function of Innovation Systems (FIS) approach is used to identify the corresponding LVDC stakeholders, research, pilot projects, rules and regulations and policies for development. For the technical potential, there are three different cases formulated for analysis. They are ACTube case, DCLED case and ACLED case. In the experiments, tubelights are used in the ACTube case and LEDs are used in the DCLED case, in-order to neglect the energy savings obtained from LED technology, ACLED case is assumed. The overall efficiency of the LVDC grid (DCLED case) is 94.82% and the LVAC grid (ACTube case) is 88.16% and the LVAC grid (ACLED case) is 88.67%. From all these cases, the LVDC grid is around 6.5% more efficient than LVAC grid in small buildings similar to the DC Office. The energy savings obtained by LVDC grid replacing LVAC grid (ACTube) is 2013 kWh/year, and if tubelights in AC are replaced with LEDs in AC, then 1854 kWh/year is estimated to be saved. The cost-savings are calculated from the energy savings obtained by replacing LVAC grid (ACTube case) with LVDC grid (DCLED case). Considering the total lifetime of the LVDC system as 12 years, the cost savings obtained are € 221.43/year achieving payback in 6 years. For the commercial potential, using seven functions of FIS it is identified that there are several stakeholders interested in LVDC projects and are responsible for pilot projects. The government also is implementing the new NPR 9090 as the rules and guidelines for LVDC grid installations in buildings. It is also identified that people have positive acceptance of the LVDC grid in their houses. But the knowledge sharing about LVDC among the society is currently lacking. Moreover, the AC electricity distributors are interested in shifting towards the DC micro grid distribution.

Corporate Venturing, is a recurrently researched mechanism for corporates to stay innovative. However, the difficulty of establishing a Corporate Venturing Unit, becomes apparent in the literature. ENGIE Ventures and Integrated Solutions (EVIS) also resorts to external CV activities, in order to cope with the pace of technological innovations in the predominantly classical energy industry making it an interesting case to conduct the research. The first part of the research consisted of research endeavors into external CV objectives, in order to develop a version of the intended external CV objectives for a CVU at EVIS. This has been done by conducting a thorough literature review. Consequently, these insights were used as a foundation to conduct internal interviews at EVIS in order to develop a set of intended CV objectives for a CVU at EVIS. The second part, researching the factors, started with a literature study, resulting in the development of a conceptual framework of factors. This conceptual framework has been used as a foundation for a total of nine external interviews. Ultimately, the insights of both the internal interviews and external interviews are processed into implications for EVIS. For the CV objectives intended for a CVU at EVIS, strategic objectives should outweigh the financial objective, where the following strategic objectives are specifically mentioned in order of importance: Strategic corporate renewal and a window on new technology, business models and capabilities – Promoting ENGIE’s innovative and entrepreneurial image – Developing an innovative and entrepreneurial culture within the corporate – Leveraging internal capabilities, competencies and ideas to create new business – Accelerating innovation though ventures – Creating deal flow for corporate M&A. For the financial objective, the interviewees at EVIS indicated the room for potential loss-making investments and ambiguity towards whether every investment should be financially viable. However, external interviews provided a different insight: every investment should show good financial returns, purely looking at the investment financials. Furthermore, the factors that should be considered in order for a CVU to engage in external CV activities, based on literature and external interviews, have been approached by categorizing them into five categories: Factors internal to the CVU, factors in the relation between the CVU and the corporate parent, between the CVU and external ventures, between the CVU and spin-offs and between the CVU and external investment partners. The following factors have been found to be most crucial to consider for a CVU engaging in external CV activities: balancing strategic and financial objectives, the CVU’s team composition and compensation, the autonomy of a CVU and the degree of autonomy it provides to ventures, collaborative investments together with financial and strategic co-investors, and specific activities of a CVU with spin-offs (e.g. motivation to spin-off, involvement of external investors, etc.). However, most importantly, there is no one size fits all for the factors identified. Hence, each CVU should make its own decisions with regard to the identified factors, in order to create the most suited circumstances for their CVU.

In this graduation research conditions affecting the profitability as well as the grid effects of a PV-Electrolysis system have been studied using the site of PV park Oosterwolde as a case study. During the study a wide variety scenarios have been created from a set of influential parameters on the PV-Electrolysis business case, which have produced meaningful insights into the conditions for profitability and grid effects of such a system and at the same time have emphasized the complexity of the business case as it can be affected by a wide variety of factors of which the future development remains uncertain. According to the Base Price Scenario in this study there are multiple ways that lead to profitable PV-Electrolysis business cases in 2025, all of which including a subsidy. This is due to favourable developments in several areas, most notably electricity prices, renewable hydrogen prices, PV and Electrolysis system costs and subsidies. Sizing of the electrolyser and the grid connection can have significant effects on the business case as well, but under the scenarios simulated in this study are not able to attain profitable business cases alone in 2025. An analysis of the grid effects of the PV-Electrolysis results in two key takeaways: 'island mode' business cases can achieve attractive returns when supported by subsidies, and: years where the 'Spread H2/Power' is mobile around the zero line reflect the response to price signals with a more balanced power-to-grid profile compared to the individual PV system, which is desirable from an electricity system point of view, leading to improved utilization of the power grid.

In order to limit global warming to well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures, a lot still needs to happen. Carbon free hydrogen as an energy carrier can significantly reduce the CO2 emissions of the entire energy system. In this report, a concept for a spatially efficient, initial hydrogen corridor in the European Union is proposed. The corridor links up areas with high hydrogen consumption to regions with great hydrogen production potential. The spatial distribution of hydrogen demand in a bottom-up scenario was determined first. With this information an optimal hydrogen corridor was composed and subsequently the consumption potential for this corridor was estimated. Finally a hydrogen system was designed with plans for production, transmission and storage. The areas that make up the corridor, going from the Sahara to the North of England, have a combined surface area of only 7% of the EU total. The proposed corridor currently consumes 50% of the total hydrogen consumption in the EU. In 2050 the corridor will consume an estimated 33% of the EU total. In an ambitious scenario, the proposed system is designed to produce and transport almost 31 million tons of hydrogen, or about 1200 TWh, to the corridor. About 35% of the hydrogen is produced in the EU, mainly on the North-Sea, and the rest in the Sahara desert. The hydrogen is distributed among the corridor by identifying 7800 kilometers of existing natural gas infrastructure. The estimated levelised cost of hydrogen transmission amount to 0.12 € per kilogram. Next to that more than enough hydrogen storage potential is available in the vicinity of the infrastructure using already existing rock-salt caverns. Although the project presented in this research may be of large scale and bring severe challenges, the positive environmental consequences are potentially even greater. The EU has the bold ambition to make Europe the first climate neutral continent on the planet and this hydrogen corridor can very significantly contribute to this ambition. Furthermore the EU currently has the political and economic power, as well as the required knowledge, to take a leading role in the development of hydrogen technology. A leading role that may turn out to be very profitable because hydrogen, with its versatility and undeniable strength to decarbonise entire energy systems, will undoubtedly be used by the rest of the world.

This research describes a generic step-by-step approach that can be used to depict energy transition-enhancing overvoltage mitigation strategies that fit the local context of a neighbourhood. Although high PV induced low-voltage grid overvoltage mitigation has been studied extensively, this research adds onto existing literature in three ways. It is the first generic approach to develop neighbourhood overvoltage mitigation strategies. Moreover, it considers spatial and socio-economic aspects. Lastly, it regards system integration and wider energy transition ambitions. The 6 steps of the transition-enhancing overvoltage mitigation framework (TENOMF) are described. Subsequently, the TENOMF is demonstrated on a case study in the Diamantbuurt in Amsterdam. The results of the case study show that conventional mitigation strategies are very effective in overvoltage mitigation, however, they lack in wider energy transition ambitions. In consideration of local energy transition plans, hydrogen conversion shows to be very effective financially and energetically. In combination with high electrification, home batteries prove to be effective in system integration. The final decision-making should be done with the involvement of local stakeholders. For the social acceptance of a strategy, co-ownership, local benefits and involvement in the planning process are of great importance. With the TENOMF, strategies mitigating PV induced overvoltage in the LV grid can be chosen that fit the local context of a neighbourhood. By using system integration, the TENOMF matches overvoltage mitigation strategies with energy transition ambitions. Therefore, using the TENOMF, overvoltage mitigation can be seen as an opportunity as it helps catalysing the energy transition as a whole. Largest limitations were caused by the used PtX model for the energetic assessment. It is recommended to improve PtX’s overvoltage modelling by using a higher time-granularity and by considering fundamental electrotechnical principles.

A radical change of the energy system is required in light of the dramatic effects of human-induced climate change. In this perspective, a future renewable hydrogen energy system was proposed, where biogenic resources are ascribed relevant potential as source of biogenic hydrogen and biogenic carbon dioxide. In this light, the research brings forward the concept of third-generation upgrading as the highest valorisation potential of biogas. This alters the perspective on biogas as source of renewable electricity, heat or fuel to biogas as platform molecule able to couple the renewable hydrogen and bio-economy domain. The research shows that concept of third-generation upgrading relies on a technologically feasible, environmentally benign and economically sound production process. In this respect, the adoption of the concept of third-generation upgrading is supported via the valuation of the bio-carbon dioxide as scarce renewable carbon-containing molecule and valuable carbon sink. Therefore, the concept of third- generation upgrading should be supported via regulatory commitment, market creation, policy mechanisms and infrastructural changes. In this way, biogas can act as an invaluable source of bio-hydrogen and bio-carbon dioxide, spark system integration and stimulate energy security. Ultimately, this research proposes to change the way biogas is seen.

The transition from a fossil to a renewable energy system presents challenges in ensuring reliable and affordable energy supply. This dissertation addresses these challenges by proposing an integrated system approach to designing a renewable energy and water system on the neighborhood level. The concept, known as Power-to-H3, involves converting local solar and wind energy to hydrogen and heat, utilizing rainwater for various purposes, and incorporating multiple energy carriers (electricity, heat and hydrogen). A techno-economic simulation multi-energy model is developed and applied to assess to what extend the concept is clean, reliable, and affordable in delivering the neighborhood system services energy, transport and water (Chapter 2 & 3). The study explores different system integration scenarios, highlighting the benefits of combining power-to-heat, seasonal heat storage, and power-to-hydrogen methods to create a more balanced system that can be cheaper than all-electric solutions (Chapter 3). Additionally, the research proves the value of including seasonal storage in MES modelling by investigating in more detail the coupling of a multi-energy system model with a numerical hydro-thermal model for accurate modelling of high-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage systems (Chapter 4). Moreover, the recovery of waste heat from electrolysis and its potential for CO2 savings is assessed, which shows how the efficiency of electrolysis increases to 90% when waste heat is utilized (Chapter 5). Finally, an experimental study examines the integration of energy and water systems in a building, demonstrating the cooling effects of green roofs with rainwater storage on solar panels with an expected 4.4% higher PV output (Chapter 6). Overall, this dissertation provides insights into designing reliable, affordable, and clean energy and water systems at the neighborhood level, particularly in North-West European contexts.@en