The regionalization tool: mapping future Belgian energy needs by coupling a long-term investment planning model with a national industry database

We discuss the development and functionalities of the Regionalization Tool (RT) which presents a user-friendly post-processing procedure of scenario results, provided by a long-term energy system investment planning model, as well as a national industrial database. The tool generates geographically explicit clusters of production or consumption volumes for different commodities, according to a selected pathway towards 2050. Doing so, the tool introduces a spatial component to the otherwise aggregated modeling results, thereby balancing the computational cost of the energy system model with increased geographical detail to be used as input for energy infrastructure investment decision models. We demonstrate this added value of the tool through a case study for a decarbonization scenario towards 2050 for Belgium, selected from the PATHS2050 study. The case study highlights the spatial component to the electrification trend that emerges in the scenario results, as well as a geographically varying volumes of hydrogen consumption and captured CO2, thereby providing input to infrastructure investment decision models.