---
title: "Open energy system models"
chunk: 14/16
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_energy_system_models"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:49:30.157219+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

The basic functionality of PyPSA is described in a 2018 paper. PyPSA bridges traditional steady-state power flow analysis software and full multi-period energy system models. It can be invoked using either non-linear power flow equations for system simulation or linearized approximations to enable the joint optimization of operations and investment across multiple periods. Generator ramping and multi-period up and down-times can be specified, DSM is supported, but demand remains price inelastic.
A 2018 study examines potential synergies between sector coupling and transmission reinforcement in a future European energy system constrained to reduce carbon emissions by 95%. The PyPSA-Eur-Sec-30 model captures the demand-side management potential of battery electric vehicles (BEV) as well as the role that power-to-gas, long-term thermal energy storage, and related technologies can play. Results indicate that BEVs can smooth the daily variations in solar power while the remaining technologies smooth the synoptic and seasonal variations in both demand and renewable supply. Substantial buildout of the electricity grid is required for a least-cost configuration. More generally, such a system is both feasible and affordable. The underlying datasets are available from Zenodo.
As of January 2018, PyPSA is used by more than a dozen research institutes and companies worldwide. Some research groups have independently extended the software, for instance to model integer transmission expansion.
In 2020, the PyPSA‑Eur‑Sec model for Europe was used to analyze several Paris Agreement Compatible Scenarios for Energy Infrastructure  and determined that early action should pay off.
On 9 January 2019, the project released an interactive web-interfaced "toy" model, using the Cbc solver, to allow the public to experiment with different future costs and technologies. The site was relaunched on 5 November 2019 with some internal improvements, a new URL, and faster solver now completing in about 12 s. A newer version now uses the HiGHS solver.

During September 2021, PyPSA developers announced the PyPSA‑Server project to provide a web interface to a simplified version of their PyPSA‑Eur‑Sec sector‑coupled European model. Users need not install software and can define fresh scenarios "by difference" using a forms‑based webpage. Previously run scenarios are stored for future reference. The implementation as of October 2021 is essentially proof‑of‑concept.
In late‑2021, PyPSA‑Eur developers reported their investigation into integrated high-voltage electricity and hydrogen grid expansion options for Europe and the United Kingdom and the impact of the kind of trade‑offs that might stem from limited public acceptance of new infrastructure. Subsequent work added endogenous learning effects and identified steeper technology cost reductions than those anticipated by the European Commission.  Work published in 2024 integrated PyPSA‑Eur with the global energy supply chain model TRACE and highlighted the need to coordinate infrastructure policies and import strategies.
A December 2021 study and ongoing work deployed a PyPSA‑PL model to assess policy options for Poland.  Edinburgh University researchers published an independent power system model for Britain named PyPSA‑GB in 2024, together with assessments of official net‑zero Future Energy Scenarios (FES) from the UK National Grid.
Several PyPSA maintainers announced a new non‑profit startup in June 2023 to provide consulting services using PyPSA.

==== PyPSA meets Earth initiative ====
The PyPSA meets Earth initiative arose in October 2022 as a means of gathering together several historically disjoint PyPSA applications. One key strand is the PyPSA‑Africa project (previously PyPSA-meets-Africa), launched some months earlier to provide a single model and dataset spanning the African continent. A July 2022 webinar co‑hosted by CPEEL, Nigeria advanced this agenda. The first research paper, released in 2022, examines various pathways for Africa to be net zero by 2060 — with solar power and battery storage expected to be the predominant technologies.
Another key strand of the initiative is the PyPSA‑Earth project which seeks to create a global energy systems model at high spatial and temporal resolution. The project hopes to encourage large‑scale collaboration by providing software and processes that can capture the global energy system and thus also any subset of it. The codebase supports system integration studies that draw together electricity generation, storage, and transmission expansion. A sector-coupled version includes demand from transport, buildings, industry, services and agriculture. It includes hydrogen transmission and repurposing of gas infrastructure for hydrogen.

=== REMix ===

REMix stands for "Renewable Energy Mix". It is an open source framework developed by the German Aerospace Center for setting up linear or mixed integer optimization models written in GAMS. A framework is understood as a collection of mutually compatible source codes required for a particular model, which can be combined in a modular manner. In this way, the same modeling concepts, along with the associated source code, can be reutilized to address various content focuses based on a common set of available model features.
REMix is developed for applications in energy system modeling studies. It is typically used to set up energy system optimization models, although potential applications beyond energy research are conceivable. In particular, these energy system optimization models are often characterized as bottom-up models in terms of explicitly modeling different technologies. In addition, these models are resolved on a spatial and a temporal dimension.