This work package provides WP2, WP3, WP4, WP5 and WP8 with a detailed and exhaustive description of the boundary conditions required to implement the planning methodology. These boundary conditions serve as references for the entire study including the development of grid architectures from 2020 to 2050 (the relevant technological, economical and socio-political issues that define the different relevant scenarios which must be taken into account for simulation studies).

The work package delivers:

• To WP2 and WP8: the general assumptions for the projected generation, demand and power exchanges (including external boundaries of Europe) for the years 2030, 2040 and 2050
• To WP3: the technology boundary conditions
• To WP4: the socio-environmental boundary conditions
• To WP5: the political boundary conditions.

The work package is led by SINTEF (the coordinator of SUSPLAN) with contributions from Amprion, Brunel University, CEPS, CEP, E3G (as coordinator of the ECF study), ELIA, ENSIEL, ENTSO-E, EURELECTRIC, Europacable, EWEA, IEN, IST, PSE, REN, RTE, swissgrid, Technofi, Terna, TU Berlin and T&D. The vision to be designed for 2050 requires coordinated progress on many fronts – finance, technology, research and development, the development of adequate supply chains, and significant changes in the generation mix and in evolving grid capabilities throughout Europe.

Setting the boundary conditions for the e-Highway2050 research

WP1 is the starting point for all following work in e-Highway2050, and a detailed bottom-up approach is necessary to ensure transparency and efficient communication of boundaries to the other WP's. Thus, the definition of boundary conditions starts with a bottom-up process where we distinguish between uncontrollable uncertainties which are important for the development of EHS but which the decision maker(s) cannot control, and controllable options which can be chosen by the decision maker(s). The quantitative uncertainties and options are as far as possible specified in numerical values (min, max, average etc.) in WP1, but the following work packages will improve the numerical specification/limitation of the suggested uncertainties and options, and may also add, modify or remove some uncertainties or options.

Any combination of uncertainties will create the boundaries for a possible future in which the EHS will be implemented, while the decision maker(s) choice of one or more options will combine into a possible strategy on how to implement EHS. This is illustrated in the figure below. In the analyses in following work packages, different scenarios for EHS will be established by choosing an appropriate set of Strategies, and then testing those under different futures. When a strategy performs satisfactory under many (all) possible futures, we can say we have identified a robust strategy.