Energy Resilient Cities

How can cities' energy systems become more resilient to climate change and geopolitical challenges? In our transdisciplinary project with the city of Gothenburg as a partner, we explore opportunities for increased local resilience through decentralization, user flexibility, and energy storage.

Älvsborgsbron, Göteborg, Solnedgång bild

Climate transition, new technologies, and a changing geopolitical landscape impose new demands on our energy systems. By increasing decentralization, user flexibility, and energy storage, the resilience of energy systems can be enhanced, reducing vulnerability to geopolitical conflicts and supporting climate adaptation. This transdisciplinary project, with Gothenburg as a case study, aims to develop a deeper understanding of how local energy systems can become more resilient. By developing and applying energy system modeling, combined with analyses of implementation conditions at the municipal level, the project will provide new insights into how cities can lead the way toward more sustainable energy solutions.

Goal of the project

The overall goal of the project is to develop new knowledge on the potential for a more decentralized local energy system and how such can enhance energy resilience with focus on the electricity system and efficient sector integration. This contributes to necessary institutional capacity for the development of more resilient local energy
systems.

The project team will develop an integrated socio-technical approach to understand how a more resilient local energy system can be achieved through more effective intra- and
interorganizational collaboration.With this project we want to break new theoretical ground and contribute to new socio-technical theories and practices adjusted to the era of significant transitions and demands to rethink energy systems.

We address the transition towards a resilient energy system through a techno-economic analysis of how the city energy system can be transformed with focus on resilient electrification, how the City’s organization can be arranged that facilitate learning for sustainable urban futures and collaboration strategies for efficient implementation of strategies towards resilience. We will specificlly focus on:

Definition of city energy resilience.
To define organizational strategies for city energy resilience.
Understanding the preconditions for implementing city energy resilience
Increased knowledge and awareness of city energy energy resilience.

The project team includes researchers from Linköping University (LiU), Lund University (LU) and Chalmers University of Technology (CUT), as well as the City of Gothenburg as a partner. The project is running from 2024 - 2029.

Join our project

PhD student to LiU

Would you like to contribute to the development of sustainable communities? If so, this could be the right opportunity for you! We are looking for a motivated PhD candidate for the doctoral program in Sustainable Systems, with a focus on strategic sustainability management in municipalities.

Read more and apply (in Swedish)

PhD student to Chalmers

Are you interested in shaping the sustainable cities of the future? We are now seeking a PhD candidate at Chalmers who will develop and apply energy systems modeling at the city level. The goal is to understand how cities can become more resilient while meeting climate targets. You will develop and conduct analyses to test scenarios created in collaboration with two other partner universities. This position offers a unique opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary research environment and contribute to the transformation of our cities for a sustainable future.

PhD student to Lund

Do you want to help shape the energy systems of the future and make cities more resilient? As a PhD student in this project, you will have the opportunity to work closely with Linköping University, Chalmers University of Technology, and the City of Gothenburg. The focus is on Gothenburg's energy system, where you will combine energy system modeling with analysis of the municipal conditions for implementation. The project offers a dynamic working environment with qualitative methods such as interviews and focus groups, and the research will be published in international journals in English.

Are you ready to make a difference? Apply now!

Contact

Forskningsledare

Chalmers

Lund University

Chalmers

Lund University

ulla.janson@hvac.lth.se

Project partner

Environmental Administration in the City of Gothenburg
kersti.karltorp@miljo.goteborg.se

Background

For decades, the energy system has been central to providing reliable and affordable energy, driving societal development. However, we now face new challenges that require adaptations to the energy system to meet current demands while continuing to ensure its functionality. The climate transition is a major driver of these changes, with a shift to fossil-free energy and increased electrification emerging as crucial solutions to reduce climate impact, especially in the industrial and transportation sectors. Electrification brings a significant increase in electricity demand and the need for new power lines, particularly in cities that rely on energy imports, such as Gothenburg.

In addition to climate change, the deteriorating security situation, notably due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is a strong motivator to enhance the resilience of the energy system. This has heightened awareness and concern over the heavy foreign dependence on energy supply chains, underscoring the need for greater control over energy provision.

Energy resilience is defined as the ability of grids, buildings, and communities to withstand and quickly recover from power outages and continue to deliver electricity, heating, cooling, ventilation, and other energy-dependent services. This project will explore ways to increase resilience in energy systems by examining how decentralized energy production and sector coupling can be integrated into urban energy landscapes.

The Graduate School in Energy Systems

Graduate School in Energy Systems

Graduate School in Energy Systems purpose is to increase understanding of how energy system depends on the interaction between technology and society's regulatory framework, policy development and operators interests and behavior.

Energy resilient cities

Goal of the project

Sara Gustafsson