The percentage of renewables in the electricity supply is steadily growing worldwide. Using a combination of different renewable sources, an ecological and economical electricity mix can be realized across national borders. Decisive here is the reliable supply, storage and distribution of renewable electricity. In the Supergrid project, several Fraunhofer institutes joined together to research just how such an electricity and transmission grid between North Africa and Europe could function. They developed scenarios for a renewable energy system in the MENA region and compared potential technologies. Detailed solutions were proposed and regulatory mechanisms were evaluated. The results of the Supergrid study are now available in a final report.
The Supergrid study was a joint effort carried out by five Fraunhofer institutes each with different expertise. Using a model-based analysis, an interdisciplinary research team first confirmed that renewable energy technologies have a large techno-economical potential in North Africa. Because of this, scenarios were developed that consider an ambitious expansion of renewable energy in the MENA region – with and without the perspective of energy exports to Europe. Because present political conditions hinder the expansion of renewable energy in this region, the scientists also prepared recommendations for new regulatory mechanisms and support schemes for renewable energy.
