04

Our goal is not to predict the future, rather to shape it. Net-zero scenarios for the energy system help us do that. Although they deliver only a blurred view of the future, they allow us to guess the shape of things to come, and most importantly to formulate actions for today that will put us on the right track.

The Energy Science Center (ESC) is delighted to welcome Dr. Petrissa Eckle and Dr. Turhan Demiray as members of the competence center. Petrissa Eckle leads the Sustainability in Business Lab (sus.lab) at ETH Zurich and Dr. Turhan Demiray is research director of the Research Center for Energy Networks (FEN).

To help keep global warming in check, Switzerland has committed to a net-zero emissions target by the mid-century. The required energy transition will likely give rise to costs, but it will also yield large co-benefits in terms of, for instance, improved health outcomes from less pollution. These are, however, often overlooked. The latest post argues that to take sound decisions related to the energy transition, it is important to consider all the associated costs as well as benefits.

Energy storage is required to reliably and sustainably integrate renewable energy into the energy system. Diverse storage technology options are necessary to deal with the variability of energy generation and demand at different time scales, ranging from mere seconds to seasonal shifts. However, only a few technologies are capable of offsetting the long-term (seasonal) mismatch between renewable generation and energy demand.

Futaba, host of the Fukushima prefecture TEPCO Daiichi nuclear power plant, was evacuated in March, 2011. It has since remained empty. Only recently reopened to the public, Futaba now resembles that of a forgotten ghost town, waiting quietly for life to resume. For Matsueda Atsushi, a once proud Futaba resident, a return home is ridden with doubt and unease.