Collaboration opportunities between IEA TCPs

In 2024-2025, the “Flexibility Inter-TCP Coordination Group” brought together 14 Technology Collaboration Programmes (TCPs) under the International Energy Agency (IEA) to explore the trending topic of flexibility in energy systems. These TCPs offered diverse perspectives on FLEXIBILITY, extending far beyond merely balancing short-term variability in the electricity grid. An open-minded questionnaire was developed and answered by all TCPs, providing a rich foundation for discussion.

The insights gathered from their responses, the discussions during the meetings in Rome and Paris, and the synthesized Coordination Group draft report serve as a basis to identify collaboration opportunities between the IEA Bioenergy TCP and other TCPs on the topic of “flexibility from system integration.”

We aim to contribute broad definitions for “flexibility” and “system integration” before outlining related topics that could be of potential interest for collaboration with the IEA Bioenergy TCP, particularly the IEA Bioenergy TCP Task44 on “Bioeconomy system integration and bioenergy flexibility.”

Broad definition of „Flexibility“
The ability to shift (energy) resources through time, space, between sectors, and options.
Definition Notes are at the end of this blog.

Broad definition of „System Integration“
The process of combining at least two elements into a whole.
Definition Notes are at the end of this blog.

The following lists of collaboration opportunities are not exhaustive, please contact the IEA Bioenergy Task44 to discuss and add opportunities.

Collaboration opportunities between all TCPs:

Build on the ISGAN Wiki to establish a joint flexibility thesaurus, collecting and interlinking varying definitions, glossaries, and jargons used by different TCPs when discussing flexibility and system integration.
Collect and discuss metrics and both quantitative and qualitative methods to anticipate the benefits and threats of system integration and flexibilization (System integration impact assessment).
Explore how flexibility creates value and societal benefits, and how the systemic contributions, especially regarding resilience and reliability, are compensated.

Collaboration opportunities between the IEA Bioenergy TCP and 17 individual TCPs:

on the relevance of relatively low-key traditional seasonal storage in water reservoirs and solid biomass – re-evaluating learnings of decades and centuries of practice
on the Energy-water nexus and climate resilience: Synergies in addressing drought and floods.

comparing assessment frameworks for electricity storage, thermal storage, biogas storage, wood pellet storage, etc.on integration opportunities between electricity storage, thermal storage, biogas storage, wood pellet storage, etc.
on storage contributing to waste reduction: Waste heat, waste electricity (curtailment), waste biomass residues, waste CO2

on bioenergy in high temperature heat in industry – see also previous large IEAB inter-task https://www.ieabioenergy.com/blog/task/bioenergy-for-high-temperature-heat-in-industry/on biorefineries (already collab history with IEA Bioenergy Task40), integration and flexibility between food, materials, energy, and other serviceson industry planning and industry symbiosis planning under growing uncertaintyon process integration / heat network synthesis creating flexibility
Experience exchange on the challenges of modernization of sectors rooted in traditions – industry, agriculture, forestry

(biobased) CO2 storage and utilization providing flexibility to strategic decision making under uncertaintyOngoing large strategic BECCUS inter-task project led by IEA Bioenergy Task40
Connection to the Inter-TCP on Carbon Management

Bioenergy carriers as a medium to store and transport geothermal heat

Flexible bioenergy to balance intermittent Wind and PV
(previous collaboration workshop at IEA HQ in 2019)
Categorization and comparison of synergies and trade-offs between Wind, PV, agriculture, and forestry

on the flexibilization and automation of biomass-based heating systemson the interoperability of smart biomass heating, heat-pumps, PV, solarthermal, etc.conceptualizing bioeconomy communities or hybrid energy communitiesdeveloping standard communication with electricity and district heating grid
on bioenergy cooling

exchange learnings between fossil and bioenergy gasification, on feedstock flexibility, product flexibility, and operational flexibility
on flexibilization trough (bio-)methane from solid energy carriers, waste, and residues increasing the storability, tradeability, and convertablity of its energy content and carbon content

on micro-combined heat and power (micro-CHP)

on hybrid systems integrating CSP and bioenergy
on CSP driven biomass gasification

see previous collaboration
https://www.ieabioenergy.com/blog/task/renewable-gas-%e2%80%90-deployment-markets-and-sustainable-trade/
on renewable electricity-based hydrogen for boosting biomethane, hydrogen from biomass, carbon from biomass for renewable based liquid or gaseous energy carriertransfer of learnings from biomethane grid injection for hydrogen addition for hydrogen addition
transfer of learnings from non-fossil based transport fuels for synthetic fuel developmenton joint prospects for biobased, synthetic, and hybrid marine and jet fuels
on joint prospects for hydrogen and biomass in carbon capture and utilization
on the low hanging fruits of hybrid biogas and hydrogen utilization

co-development of capacity modulation of heat pumps and biomass heating systems

on the public acceptance of system integration and flexibility relevant infrastructure – e.g. biogas plants, biomass transport,on improving public participation in flexible bioenergy adaptationon flexibility and resource shifting implications on resource equity and justice
on the feasibility of automation (automation workshop upcoming organized by IEA Bioenergy Task44)

on the integration of flexible bio-electricity production
on the feasibility of automation and aggregation (automation workshop upcoming organized by IEA Bioenergy Task44)
on networks providing spatial flexibility: electricity grids, district heating and cooling networks, biomass logistics, hydrogen and CO2 networks

see ongoing collaboration
https://task44.ieabioenergy.com/publications/exploring-flexibility-from-renewable-hydrogen-and-bioenergy-in-energy-system-modelling-workshop-on-17-november-2023-summary-and-outlook/
translation of flexibility and integration metrics into models to amplify synergies and mitigate threats of system integration and flexibility

on biomass district heating and cooling providing flexibility for electricity and heat
on the feasibility of automation and aggregation (automation workshop upcoming organized by IEA Bioenergy Task44)

see ongoing collaboration with IEA Bioenergy Task39
- Converting fossil fuel infrastructure and storage for bio- and synthetic fuels

More about the definitions:

Note 1: This ability can be used to balance shortages with surpluses, thereby simultaneously increasing resource efficiency and system reliability.
Note 2: This ability can also be misused by shifting resources from regions, times, or sectors that need them to areas where there is already a surplus. For example, large-scale digital networking of charging infrastructures enables aggregated flexibility services but also opens a window for cyberattacks to destabilize the power grid.
Note 3: Shifting resource consumption (a) between time periods includes short-, medium-, and long-term storage; (b) between spaces includes the operation of network and transport infrastructure; (c) between sectors includes multi-sector coupling; (d) between options includes flexibility created by diversifying resource input streams and diversifying the produced product portfolio.
Note 4: The flexibility of the energy system can be increased through system integration (via conversion processes, power-to-heat, etc.), grid expansion, storage (batteries, hydrogen, hydropower, biomass, etc.), diversification of (networked) technology portfolios, diversification of supply portfolios and demand portfolios, and demand-side options (smart consumption).
Note 5: Distinguishing non-flexible abilities is not trivial. Non-flexible abilities might be those that do not simultaneously increase resource efficiency and system reliability but focus only on one of the two improvements. For example, redundancies like emergency power generators or over-dimensioning capacities are designed to reliably buffer bottlenecks or surpluses but reduce cost efficiency. Curtailing wind turbines also buffers wind surpluses but similarly reduces their overall efficiency by „wasting“ wind potential. Gas turbines powered by natural gas are also not considered advantageous flexibility options by the authors, as fossil fuels are not available in „abundance“ but are drawn from a „sink,“ thereby reducing overall efficiency.

Note 1: Elements can be actors, infrastructures, technological components, or processes. We refer to these elements as tangible. Broad (intangible) elements can also include cultures, individual attitudes and behavior patterns, markets, etc.
Note 2: Integrated, tangible elements (a) enable an exchange of resources or (b) improve their efficiency and/or (c) protect them from external influences. The whole is therefore more than the sum of its parts.
Note 3: The synergies, co-benefits, or shared use, as well as the trade-offs, conflicting goals, and risks resulting from integration, are rarely described in a structured manner, let alone quantitatively calculated or estimated.
Note 4: The mathematical integral plays a role in calculating the functional difference between individual elements and the integrated whole.
Note 5: In energy research, integration aspects of system integration, sector coupling, multi-sector coupling, hybrid energy systems, industrial symbiosis, process intensification, and energy communities play a role

Collaboration opportunities between IEA TCPs

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