2026

As part of the energy transition, private households become prosumer households
with modern devices like photovoltaic systems, battery storage systems, and electric
vehicles. This research tries to reduce the prosumers’ negative impact on the
local power grid by assessing the impact of different incentivation and control
mechanisms in a simulative, interactive scheduling scheme for households and a
central grid instance. Results show a positive impact on grid operation by iterative
mechanisms adding incentives or limitations for time steps with congestions in an
iterative procedure. Although no single mechanism stands out in the investigation,
the conditional power and daily peak pricing seem to offer a trade-off
between grid
relief and added costs for households without a need for communication. Further
research on prosumer integration is needed for them to contribute to a resilient
grid operation.

Unconventional natural gas production has driven North American prices down
to a fraction of those in Europe for many years, separating the two largest natural
gas markets. The entry of the United States as a major LNG exporter and the energy
crisis in Europe invites the question of whether LNG can eliminate those price
differences in a global natural gas market, as oceangoing trade does for oil markets.
The relative degree of asset specificity in the infrastructure to trade natural
gas or oil between regions separated by oceans provides insight into why, despite
increased liquefaction capacity in the United States and soaring exports to Europe
in 2022, regional price differences remain likely to persist. The fixed capital cost of
LNG infrastructure is an order of magnitude greater than for crude oil. Additionally,
the regulation of the natural gas industry in major markets outside of North
America effectively precludes competitive entry of LNG, driving a wedge between
regional gas prices. Given these constraints, LNG trade will likely remain dominated
by long-term
contracts instead of the spot markets that typify world oil markets.

The low-carbon transition and the energy crisis pose new challenges for sustainableeconomic growth in the European Union. The high import dependency and the still insufficient share of renewable energy sources threaten the competitiveness of the European economy, especially in small open economies. The article aims to introduce the term “industrial energy vulnerability” to investigate impact…