RE-INTEGRATE

Building a collaborative and inclusive environment to promote knowledge exchange, context-specific modeling toolkits, and modeling expertise to advance climate-compatible development within the established energy planning ecosystems of the AU and EU.

Background

Scientific tools find widespread application within the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), supporting strategic planning for climate-compatible development. These tools serve national and local authorities, research institutions, and civil society organizations, often in collaboration with development partners, academia, and consulting firms. They constitute a pivotal component of the energy planning landscape. Nonetheless, the scientific insights derived from these tools have not consistently bolstered the success of the strategic energy planning process. Occasionally, disjointed and biased approaches to model design and application by various stakeholders in the EU and AU have resulted in inadequate representation of country-specific social, economic, and environmental conditions (Gardumi et al., 2022). Consequently, this often leads to a deficiency in ownership and credibility, resulting in limited integration into the planning and policymaking processes.

Aim and objectives

To bridge this gap, the overarching goal of the RE-INTEGRATE project is to establish an inclusive and collaborative environment for knowledge sharing, context-specific modeling toolkits, and modeling expertise in climate-compatible development within the existing energy planning ecosystems of the AU and EU. RE-INTEGRATE aims to address the need for nurturing modeling approaches and expertise in the AU, reducing reliance on developed countries by facilitating the structured exchange of knowledge and research infrastructure. Concurrently, the project will develop and evaluate purpose-built 3E models in eight AU contexts, leveraging local expertise and assessing climate-compatible development trajectories.

Project partners

Coordinated by the KTH Division of Energy Systems, RE-INTEGRATE unites a diverse team of 16 partners, with eight hailing from the EU and the UK and eight from the African Union.

Time period: the project commenced in September 2023 and is scheduled to run until February 2027.