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An interdisciplinary research project supported by the European Regional Development Fund focuses on developing energy infrastructure projects. These projects aim not only to enhance energy security but also to provide predictable ecosystem services related to high and low water protection, as well as drinking water production. The background of the project is the Lower Saxony region of the Upper Harz Mountains in Northern Germany, which in recent years has been characterised by severe flood events but also by previously unknown periods of low water and bottlenecks in the drinking water supply. At the same time, the existing dams and the underground infrastructure from former mining offer potential for the development of pumped storage capacities that could be used to stabilise the grid or to produce green hydrogen for the adjacent industrial regions. Given the target system: (1) Water quantity management (flood protection and low water elevation), (2) Drinking water production, (3) Energy storage and electricity generation, this paper describes how project alternatives are generated under the geological conditions of a low mountain range and its foothills. The target system for evaluating infrastructure alternatives at different locations should also include construction costs (4) and the associated consumption of natural resources (5), such as in the area of flora and fauna. Moreover, it analyses how these alternatives can be evaluated in the course of a collective decision-making process. Since the benefits arising are multi-dimensional and cannot simply be quantified and offset against one another using market data and net present value estimates, the decision-making process of the Analytical Hierarchy Process is used for the evaluation. Here, the structure of a given target system is used to evaluate a set of sufficiently defined and independent alternatives. The advantage of this procedure is that the weighting of the single target dimensions does not have to be determined exogenously but is carried out in the process of collective decision-making. Decision-makers are asked to make pairwise comparisons within the respective target dimension. A ranking of the alternatives can be determined from the combination of the previously recorded target weights and the evaluations of the alternatives within the respective target dimension. The knowledge gained in the project can be used very well for future real investment projects for several reasons. First, the weighting of the target structure can be made transparent with this method. It can be shown, for example, how the ranking of the alternatives changes when the weightings are changed. Secondly, due to its participatory aspects, this procedure can be used for communication, for example, in the course of citizen participation procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interdisciplinary research project funded by the EU Regional Development Fund (ERDF) deals with the question of how energy infrastructure projects can be developed which, in addition to their contributions to security of energy supply, also provide plannable ecosystem services in the area of high and low water protection and drinking water production. The background of the project is the Lower Saxony region of the Upper Harz Mountains in Northern Germany, which in recent years has been characterized by severe flood events, but also by previously unknown periods of low water and bottlenecks in the drinking water supply. At the same time, the existing dams and the underground infrastructure from former mining offer potential for the development of pumped storage capacities that could be used to stabilize the grid or to produce green hydrogen for the adjacent industrial regions. Given the target system Water quantity management (flood protection and low water elevation) (1), Drinking water production (2), Energy storage and electricity generation (3) this paper describes how project alternatives are generated under the geological conditions of a low mountain range and its foothills. The target system for evaluating infrastructure alternatives at different locations should also include construction costs (4) and the associated consumption of natural resources (5), such as in the area of flora and fauna. Moreover, it analyses, how these alternatives can be evaluated in the course of a collective decision-making process. Since the benefits arising are multidimensional and cannot simply be quantified and offset against one another using market data and NPV-estimates, the decision-making process of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used for the evaluation. The knowledge gained in the project can be used very well for future real investment projects for several reasons. First, the weighting of the target structure can be made transparent with this method. It can be shown, for example, how the ranking of the alternatives changes when the weightings are changed. Secondly, due to its participatory aspects, this procedure can be used for communication, for example in the course of citizen participation procedures.

At present, geopolitics has become a significant force affecting the global resource market. China has a high dependence on importing strategic mineral resources. It is crucial to prevent the threatening impact of geopolitical risks on resource import security, and to deepen the implementation of the national resource security strategy. This article reviewed relevant literature both in China and internationally from the perspective of resource geopolitics theory, systematically analyzing the development process, key issues, and current geopolitical risks faced by China’s critical mineral resource supply security. Further literature analysis identified that there are three paths that geopolitical risks affect China’s resource import. The first path is “risk-demand and supply imbalance-price uncertainty”, where the geopolitical risks would make the resource price fluctuate by affecting the market demand-supply network; The second path is “risk-source crisis-supply uncertainty”, which refers to the threat to the stability of resource supply posed by geopolitical risks through triggering import source crises; The third path is “risk-channel vulnerability-transportation uncertainty”, which means that geopolitical risks exacerbate the vulnerability of import transportation channels and further cause disruption to resource transportation. A systematic review of main empirical studies found that relevant studies generally support the negative impact of geopolitical risks on China’s resource import, but also suggest that this impact is nonlinear and there is an interactive relationship between the impact paths. This article also summarized the resource geo-security strategies in the literature. On this basis, future research directions are proposed, including improving the assessment of resource geopolitical risk,exploring the pattern of price changes under geopolitical risk, strengthening the dynamic identification of geopolitical risk in resource transportation process.

Water–energy–food (WEF) risks and security are widely concerned, but there are few quantitative studies on WEF security assessment, especially lacking of researches at the urban scale. This paper puts forward a measurement framework for assessing urban WEF security from social and economic perspectives, including dimensions of availability, accessibility, affordability, safety, and stability, and applies it to the WEF security assessment in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA) by using an extended Multi-attribute Border Approximation Area Comparison (MABAC) method based on cloud model-CRITIC method and game theory. Based on the evaluation, social network analysis is used to study relations between cities in urban WEF security and determines key cities in the network. Results show that urban WEF security in most cities are positive; five dimensions of the WEF security level in each city show unbalanced characteristics; the level of energy security varies greatly among cities, followed by water and food security; urban WEF security from an economic perspective in most cities are positive, while it from a social perspective in almost half cities are positive; the spatial relation network of urban WEF security in YRUDA presents a core–edge structure; key cities in the region include Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou. The evaluation framework and models help comprehensively evaluate urban WEF security at social and economic levels and put forward suggestions to enhance urban WEF security and promote horizontal cooperation among cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to assess the existence of multiple bubbles in the global aluminum market by employing the Generalized Supremum Augmented Dickey-Fuller (GSADF) methodology. This method offers practical time series analysis tools for identifying periods of rapid price escalation, followed by subsequent collapses. Findings indicate the identification of six explosive bubbles occurring between January 1980 and March 2023, during which the aluminum price strayed from its underlying fundamental value. Additionally, this finding is consistent with the asset pricing model, which generally considers both fundamental and bubble components. Based on the empirical results, the aluminum price bubbles are positively influenced by the copper price, GDP, the U. S dollar index, industrialization of China, China's urbanization rate, whereas the global aluminum production, oil price, and base metal price index have a negative explanatory effect on the aluminum price bubbles. To effectively stabilize the international aluminum price, policymakers are suggested to be vigilant in identifying bubble episodes and monitoring their progression. Additionally, regulatory authorities should implement measures to curb excessive speculative activity during periods of extreme market volatility, thereby mitigating excessive price fluctuations and the formation of aluminum bubbles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to create a relatively easy-to-apply, yet complex and complete model for measuring levels of economic security, one that incorporates risks in supply, finance, labor market, technology, sales, economic policy, and mobilization, thus comprehensively evaluating the economic security situation of a country and the danger of risk activation. The development of this conceptual model and the risk groupings was based on several historical and contemporary economic dysfunction and crisis studies (approximately one hundred). The applied methodology takes into account the different risk-averse or risk-tolerant preferences of various societies. It also considers the effect of economic cycles on economic indicators. Meanwhile, simple mathematical calculations ensure ease of application, making it readily adaptable not only for academics and researchers, but also for any governmental entity, or non-governmental organization. With the help of this model and thirteen selected indicators, we subjected Poland's economic security situation for the period 2010-2019 to comprehensive analysis. We then drew conclusions on how the level of risk in different subsystems changed during this relatively calm period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

近年来，全球生物柴油产业快速发展，用于生产生物柴油的植物油消费量持续增加，对我国植物油供给稳定造成影响。对全球生物柴油整体发展情况、生物柴油产业发展影响因素、主要生产国生物柴油政策、生物柴油产业发展前景等进行研究，分析了全球生物柴油产业发展对我国植物油安全的影响，并提出相关建议。生物柴油产业发展改变了全球植物油消费结构、贸易流向，对我国油脂油料进口构成威胁，影响我国植物油供给安全。建议发展中国特色的生物柴油产业，提高我国油脂油料自给率，推动植物油多元化进口，确保我国植物油供给安全，同时呼吁生物柴油生产国优先保障食用消费，合理发展生物柴油。In recent years, the global biodiesel industry has developed rapidly, and the consumption of vegetable oil used for producing biodiesel has continued to increase, which has had an impact on the stable supply of vegetable oil in China. The overall development of global biodiesel, factors influencing industrial development, policies of major producing countries, and development prospects of biodiesel industry were studied. The impact of the development of global biodiesel industry on vegetable oil safety in China were analyzed, and relevant suggestions were put forward. It is found that the development of the biodiesel industry has changed the global consumption structure and trade flow of vegetable oil, posing a threat to China′s oil and oilseed imports, and affecting the security of China′s vegetable oil supply. It is recommended to develop biodiesel industry with Chinese characteristics, increase China′s self-sufficiency rate of oil and oilseed, promote diversified imports of vegetable oil, to ensure the safety of China′s vegetable oil supply, and call on major biodiesel production countries to prioritize ensuring edible consumption and develop biodiesel reasonably.

As the global economy continues to evolve and human society’s resource demands grow, the strategic significance of mineral resources becomes increasingly pronounced. The competition for mineral resources extends beyond primary minerals and encompasses the entire industrial chain. This article, from the perspective of the industrial chain, defined the boundaries of the critical mineral resource industrial chain as the whole industry chain of exploration and mining-smelting and processing (transportation)-production-industrial utilization-recycling and reuse. We defined the availability of critical mineral resources in terms of each link of the industrial chain, emphasizing the critical roles played by different segments of the industrial chain. Building upon existing research methods on mineral resource availability, we identified 20 factors that influence the availability. These factors were categorized into six dimensions: geological, economic, technological, geopolitical, regulatory, and social aspects. Furthermore, we defined the industrial chain links that they directly affect, and constructed the indicator system of the availability of critical mineral resources from the perspective of different links. In the process of the systematic review, we found that research on critical mineral resource availability from the industrial chain perspective still has shortcomings in terms of its implication, secondary supply, multi-link nexus, and model development and utilization. We proposed four major frontier directions: (1) The new connotation of critical mineral resource availability from the perspective of industrial chain. (2) The novel construction of the relationship between primary resource and secondary resource availability under the background of resource challenges. (3) The coupling relationship of multi-link availability of the whole industrial chain of critical mineral resources. (4) The construction of the availability database and research model of the whole industrial chain of critical mineral resources.

The resilience of supply chains is analyzed in a model of strategic technology investments in markets with essential resources. With a monopoly supplier, dual sourcing is a strategy to reduce switching costs in the long-run. It serves as an insurance mechanism against future opportunism by providing access to competitive global markets. Investments in dual sourcing are required to limit abuse of market power by the active source provider, even though the option of dual sourcing may not be exercised in equilibrium. The analysis has implications for the European natural gas market. Liquefied natural gas terminals may serve a strategic purpose of limiting ex-post opportunism even when delivering gas by pipeline is more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical minerals are the cornerstone of the new round of the industrial revolution. The global division of labor established under the traditional technology, industry, and trade systems is facing a significant restructuring. Global economic and technological changes will lead to a long-term increase in demand for critical minerals. The critical minerals supply chain is rife with political interference and distorted trade practices compared to the robust resource demand. It faces several challenges that threaten the sustainability of the supply chain. We analyze the evolving security connotation of critical minerals supply chains. We also provide an overview of research on quantifying risks of critical minerals from two aspects: security evaluation mechanism and global value chain. The interdisciplinary research techniques and methods are more adapted to the new trends of international competition in critical minerals. The article reviews relevant security risk identification and response research in critical minerals supply chains. It analyzes how to address the risk challenges from national strategies. Finally, the article explores new trends under new technological revolution and industrial change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the issue of supply security in Chinese tin resources, conducting a comprehensive analysis encompassing supply security, demand conditions, market risk, and geopolitical stability. The study employs the AHP-Entropy Weight method to calculate the comprehensive weights of various indicators, revealing the sustainable supply capability of the resources and the challenges they confront. The research unveils that the domestic supply potential and the international commercial extraction environment are pivotal influences on the sustainable supply capability of tin resources. Firstly, since 2010, China has started to import net tin ores and concentrates, leading to a substantial increase in external dependency. However, China's tin resource reserves have gradually decreased, posing challenges to the stability of the tin resource supply. Secondly, the stability of supply countries and the security of import channels critically affect the stability of the tin resource supply chain. A comprehensive analysis of the outcomes indicates a consistent decline in China's sustainable tin resource supply capability since 2010, primarily due to the deterioration of resource supply conditions, growth in demand, and the escalation of geopolitical risks. Thus, the evolving foreign extraction environment, domestic resource supply potential, and the alteration in the global tin resource extraction landscape require significant attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric power is vital for the national security, economy, and people’s livelihood of a country. Ensuring the stable and secure supply of electric power is crucial for achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Therefore, it is imperative to analyze the weaknesses and challenges of power supply security in China and construct a power supply guarantee system that adapts to the new era and facilitate high-quality economic development. Herein, the research progress of power security supply is reviewed, the current status of power supply in China is summarized, and the trend in power security supply in China during the 14th Five-Year period and for the medium and long terms is analyzed. Moreover, considering the recent power rationing incidents, the problems and challenges for power supply in China are summarized and analyzed. On this basis, the basic principles of adhering to security first, a low-carbon path, market-oriented reforms, and technological innovations are proposed, and a three-step roadmap for constructing a new power supply guarantee system is investigated. Furthermore, we propose the following suggestions: (1) enhancing China’s power supply guarantee capabilities to solidify its foundation for power supply security; (2) improving the intrinsic security of power supply by focusing on the demand side; (3) establishing a new-generation technical system for guaranteeing power supply security; and (4) optimizing the market system to construct a power security ecology participated by all.

In this article, we explore concrete examples of circularity strategies for critical raw materials (CRMs) in commercial settings. We propose a company-level framework for systematically evaluating circularity strategies (e.g., material recycling, product reuse, and product or component lifetime extension) in specific applications of CRMs from the perspectives of specific industrial actors. This framework is applied in qualitative analyses—informed by relevant literature and expert consultation—of five case studies across a range of industries: (1) rhenium in high-pressure turbine components, (2) platinum group metals in industrial catalysts for chemical processing and oil refining, (3) rare earth permanent magnets in computer hard disk drives, (4) various CRMs in consumer electronics, and (5) helium in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines. Drawing from these case studies, three broader observations can be made about company circularity strategies for CRMs. Firstly, there are multiple, partly competing motivations that influence the adoption of circularity strategies, including cost savings, supply security, and external stakeholder pressure. Secondly, business models and value-chain structure play a major role in the implementation of circularity strategies; business-to-business models appear to be more conducive to circularity than business-to-consumer models. Finally, it is important to distinguish between closed-loop circularity, in which material flows are contained within the "focal" actor's system boundary, and open-loop circularity, in which material flows cross the system boundary, as the latter has limited potential for mitigating material criticality from the perspective of the focal actor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worldwide cobalt ore trade and supply chain crisis has attracted the attention of many countries and institutions, in such a manner that major countries have listed it among their key mineral series or list. The world has huge reserves of cobalt resources, however, with limited production and presence of geopolitical risks. This is mainly manifested in the existence of the highly concentrated production，refinery and consumption of cobalt resources. In addition to seabed cobalt deposits, cobalt exists in the following forms in the continents: layered sedimentary copper-cobalt deposits (about 58%), mainly located in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia; laterite-type nickel-cobalt deposits (about 29%), mainly situated in Australia, New Caledonia and Cuba; magmatic nickel-copper-PGE-cobalt deposits (about 9%), mainly distributed in Australia, Canada, Russia, Finland and the United States. Over 60% of the world’s cobalt concentrate is produced in D.R.Congo. But above 60% of cobalt ore refining and processing are done in China, while more than 60% of refined cobalt are consumed by China, the European Union and the United States. In particular, China, the United Kingdom, and Japan are nearly 100% dependent on import for cobalt supply. In face of such severe situation and intense competition, technological innovation is key. New technologies have actually been gradually applied, for example, the combined process of beneficiation and metallurgy, as well as some new extraction methods. Major challenges lie in the improvement of cobalt ore recovery rate, secondary resource utilization and product recycling. Many departments, institutions and enterprises in China have made long-term and in-depth arrangements in this regard. However, China’s international influence and control over the supply chain remain relatively weak. A big gap still exists as compared against the developed countries, making cobalt supply security an extremely important issue for China. Competition stays intense between China and western nations in terms of raw material supply. To improve the security of cobalt supply, it is crucial to gain a full understanding of the occurrence characteristics of the several major resource types, impose immense efforts on technological innovation in mining, ore processing and metallurgy, and push industrial innovation with high standards and high quality. In the meantime, considerable attention should also be paid to promoting international industrial alliances and technological cooperation, with a vision to get well prepared for the restructuring of the international industrial chain and changes in the competitive landscape.

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To understand the impact of keeping Nord Stream 2 off the map, we model the European natural gas market from the point of view of supply security. Focusing on the network aspects, we propose a novel framework to measure supply security, combining a linear programming approach with a risk assessment technique, expected shortfall (ES) borrowed from finance, particularly suited to measure extreme risk, such as the risk of failing pipelines.Shifting Russian gas exports from Ukraine to Nord Stream 2 increases risks for South-Eastern Europe, and the Trans-Anatolian and Trans-Adriatic Pipelines can only partially alleviate these changes.

Copyright of Multipurpose Utilization of Mineral Resources / Kuangchan Zonghe Liyong is the property of Multipurpose Utilization of Mineral Resources Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Natural gas is of vital importance to China's economy and social stability. Considering the high complexity and uncertainty of China's natural gas supply system, the stable supply of natural gas faces enormous challenges. How to improve its supply resilience is a key question to be solved urgently. In this paper, the connotation of natural gas supply resilience is defined and a systematic resilience assessment method is proposed based on ecological network analysis. All results are calculated by publicly available data and reasonable assumptions. From the static perspective, it is found that China's natural gas supply resilience increases during 2016–2020. From the dynamic perspective, the disruption and recovery process of China's natural gas supply system is quantitatively described. And it is found that increasing the supply capacity of LNG sources is conducive to improving the anti-interference and recovery capabilities of the system. Based on the results, suggestions are proposed to improve China's natural gas supply resilience. The ecological network analysis model proposed in this paper provides a new perspective for the study of natural gas supply resilience, which can be used as guidance for policy making. • The connotation of natural gas supply resilience is clarified. • A systematic evaluation method of natural gas supply resilience is proposed. • Natural gas supply resilience is analyzed in different scenarios. • Targeted strategies for enhancing natural gas supply resilience are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mining & Metallurgy (10057854) is the property of Beijing Research Institute of Mining & Metallurgy Technology Group and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Supply of medicinal plants from African landscapes is crucial because of their widespread use. Rapid climate change and land use change are potential threats to this resource but knowledge about the ecological needs of many of these plants is still rather limited. More knowledge about potential threats to medicinal plants supply and options to prevent future losses are desirable. Therefore, the objectives of the study were to examine (1) the effects of environmental drivers on the occurrence of medicinal plant species, (2) how different vegetation formations contribute to the provision of plants used for the treatment of diseases and (3) how these contributions are secured by redundancy. The analysis was based on a sample of 130 sampling plots in Samburu County, Kenya. We identified patterns in medicinal plants co-occurrences using classification and ordination analyses and analyzed these pattern in terms of environmental drivers, service diversity and service security. The pattern in medicinal plants co-occurrences reflected the distribution of broad formations (bushed grassland, forest, wooded grassland, savanna) driven by differences in grazing pressure, drought, slope and fraction of sand in soils. Each of the formations brought with it its own characteristic endowment with medicinal plants. The formations differed in the diversity and security of medicinal services provided. All resulted as fulfilling unique services with diseases treated by plants occurring exclusively in one or another formation. Forests featured the highest diversity of medicinal services, with medicinal plants used against 67 diseases. The supply security in forests, resulting from redundancy in supply provision, was moderate. In contrast to this, savanna grasslands featured plants with uses against 49 diseases, some of them were treated exclusively by plants from savanna grasslands. This formation also showed the highest redundancy. Wooded grasslands showed very little redundancy and is likely to be adversely affected by climate change. Whereas savannas feature the largest pool of medicinal plants and should receive due attention, urgent and highest conservation priority should, presently and in future, go towards the wooded grassland that had the lowest supply redundancy for traditional medicine.

The study evaluates the development of national supply security. The aim of the paper was to examine the supply security of solid domestic fuels for Finnish combined heat and power plants (CHP) in a domestic fuel disruption. The consumption of wood fuels has increased in recent decades and discussion of supply security has become important nationally. On the other hand, the consumption of peat and coal has been replaced by biomass, which has created questions over its sustainable availability regionally and nationally. The study utilised a questionnaire targeting major combined heat and power plants utilising domestic fuels located around Finland. The response rate of questionnaire was as high as 88%, which reflected the importance attached to the subject. The most significant concern was that economical operating conditions for peat should be ensured, or wood fuels will face difficulties in securing the energy supply by itself. However, the CHP plants were prepared to increase the use of wood fuels, for example by developing logistical systems, investing in fuel terminals and intensifying cooperation with fuel suppliers. Topic of the study is also important internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power system operators are confronted with a multitude of new forecasting tasks to ensure a constant supply security despite the decreasing number of fully controllable energy producers. With this paper, we aim to facilitate the selection of suitable forecasting approaches for the load forecasting problem. First, we provide a classification of load forecasting cases in two dimensions: temporal and hierarchical. Then, we identify typical features and models for forecasting and compare their applicability in a structured manner depending on six previously defined cases. These models are compared against real data in terms of their computational effort and accuracy during development and testing. From this comparative analysis, we derive a generic guide for the selection of the best prediction models and features per case.

Under their ‘Gone Green’ deployment scenario, National Grid forecast that energy generated from photovoltaics (PV) in the UK is expected to rise from 2 to 15 GW over the next 20 years. This is being driven by the UK's legal obligations around installing renewable energy sources and cutting greenhouse gases, the rising cost of energy and concerns around the security of supply. Power electronic converters are a key enabling technology for PV and other low-carbon technologies (LCTs). However, the use of LCTs can result in problems for the electrical distribution network such as supply voltage distortion and over-voltages, which threaten to limit or delay their uptake. The project described here is investigating the use of GaN-based converters in a hybrid PV/battery-storage unit for residential applications. The potential for MHz operation of GaN offers smaller, lighter, more efficient, and lower cost converters compared with existing silicon-based units and their deployment could lead to an increase in the installed LCT capacity on the network.

Copyright of Natural Gas Industry is the property of Natural Gas Industry Journal Agency and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Under their 'Gone Green' deployment scenario, National Grid forecast that energy generated from photovoltaics (PV) in the UK is expected to rise from 2 to 15 GW over the next 20 years. This is being driven by the UK's legal obligations around installing renewable energy sources and cutting greenhouse gases, the rising cost of energy and concerns around the security of supply. Power electronic converters are a key enabling technology for PV and other low-carbon technologies (LCTs). However, the use of LCTs can result in problems for the electrical distribution network such as supply voltage distortion and over-voltages, which threaten to limit or delay their uptake. The project described here is investigating the use of GaN-based converters in a hybrid PV/battery-storage unit for residential applications. The potential for MHz operation of GaN offers smaller, lighter, more efficient, and lower cost converters compared with existing silicon-based units and their deployment could lead to an increase in the installed LCT capacity on the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defense Industry has to perform three fundamental functions: 1. Providing buyers with services and products of suitable technological standards. 2. Manufacturing its products and services on a marketable price. 3. Ability to maintain its production in both peacetime and wartime. Consequently, the elements of the Trinity of Defense Industry include technological level, competitveness and security of supply. However, it is becoming more and more difficult to meet all criteria concerning both the present times and the future. In this article I am going to emphasize the importance of these three critical factors and demonstrate a few challenges which are making it difficult for defense industry to perform its function of supporting the operation of military forces without any errors. I am not seeking to find answer nor solution for these challenges shaking the defense industry, cause even more talented experts in the industry can't do it. I just draw up some changes characterizing our defense industrial environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kriegers Flak combined grid solution (KF CGS) will interconnect the eastern synchronous area of Denmark and Germany by extending the existing high‐voltage alternating current (HVAC) offshore wind farm infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. In contrast to conventional point‐to‐point interconnectors, the extension creates a meshed submarine grid (MSG) which includes an interconnector and wind farm collectors to the countries using the same equipment. Denmark East as part of the Nordic system and 50 Hertz as part of the synchronous Continental European grid are asynchronous to each other, which makes a frequency transformation necessary. The interconnection will be realised by a high‐voltage direct current (HVDC) back‐to‐back (BtB) converter in voltage source converter technology located at the German end of the interconnector. The BtB and the entire HVAC MSG between Denmark and Germany will be controlled by a so‐called master controller for interconnector operation (MIO). The KF CGS will integrate offshore wind power generation, increase the security of supply and enhance integration of regionally produced renewable energy. This study describes the overall infrastructure of the KF CGS and the MIO functions. A model‐based evaluation of those shows the behaviour of the HVAC/HVDC MSG in normal operation and in the case of contingencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today the global shortage refers primarily to raw materials. High energy prices, unstable agricultural markets and problematic rare ores are only some of striking indicators of the new race for raw materials. This is just the beginning: with the progress of the growing number of countries towards relative prosperity, these resources are becoming hardly sufficient. All this presents the security and political challenge for most countries, and for Switzerland alike.

In recent years increasing shares of variable RES (renewable energy sources) have changed the structure of electricity markets in Western Europe, especially in Germany. The core objective of this paper is to provide insights on the conditions to integrate even larger quantities of variable RES into the electricity system by using market-based principles and how, straightforward, a sustainable electricity system could work. Our major finding is that we suggest a market-based approach to ensure that competitive forces rather than governmental interferences as capacity mechanisms shape the future of the energy system. The major conclusions of this analysis are: The transition towards a competitive and sustainable future electricity system will be based on an approach of “new thinking” which is to accept a paradigm shift in the whole electricity system. This includes switching to a more flexible and smarter system allowing a greater scope for demand participation, storage options and other flexibility measures. Developing such a system implies also that no politically motivated capacity mechanisms are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper gives an outlook on a bandwidth of required installed power-to-gas capacity in the German power sector fed by 100% renewable generation until 2050. Two scenarios were simulated to quantify cost effects of power-to-gas on the electricity system: once with, once without additional short-term flexibility options to a system using fossil natural gas as sole flexibility option instead. As a result, at latest in 2035, power-to-gas capacity expansion has to take place to reach required installed capacities of up to 89-134 GW in 2050. Application of power-to-gas as long-term flexibility leads to cost savings of up to 11,7-19 bn Euro enabling a fully renewable system in 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public support for renewables has led to an unexpected investment momentum in Germany. A consequence is reduced wholesale electricity prices, the so-called merit order effect of renewables. We estimate this reduction using an econometric approach and give a quantitative overview of the financial situation of conventional generators. Our results indicate that investments in new conventional capacities are economically unviable. With the current market design, this situation is going to impact supply security at least in the long run. A popular approach to address this issue is the introduction of additional public support for conventional power plants. However, we believe that subsidizing renewable and conventional capacities contradicts the idea of a liberal market. We present two alternatives: State control of investments in renewables through auctions (as proposed by the European Commission), and a premium paid to representatives of the demand side (such as retailers) independence of their shares of renewables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yttrium tends to occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides and exhibits similar chemical properties as rare earth elements. Yttrium sources are typically concentrated in China, and there are concerns about supply security. Yttrium is used in small, but essential, quantities in a variety of advanced industrial sectors, for example, in phosphors, advanced ceramics, optical glasses, and batteries. In terms of resource security, it is important to verify the domestic yttrium consumption trends. In order to characterize the domestic yttrium consumption trends in Japan, we tracked the historical yttrium consumption patterns from 2001 to 2011 by applying the bottom-up approach and illustrated the recent domestic yttrium flow by using a substance flow analysis. The results showed that the total yttrium consumption has remained steady over 10 years, from 1,124 tonnes (t) in 2001 to 967 t in 2011. Recent consumption in 2011 was driven primarily by the use of yttrium in fluorescent lamps (462 t), nickel metal hydride batteries (185 t), and optic glasses (149 t). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]