Modeling, Simulation and Optimisation in Pipeline Network Analysis with Applications to Natural Gas and District Heating Systems

Dear Colleagues, 

Future energy systems based on renewable energy technologies will heavily integrate hydrogen and renewable gases (biomethane and synthetic methane) as well as district heating systems in order to meet the high heat requirements of industrial processes and urban buildings, while ensuring clean air and lower emissions. Hydrogen and renewable gases are flexible energy carriers for fuel, electricity, and heat applications, which can be used across all sectors of the economy, particularly when heat-intensive processes are involved. Simultaneously, it is recognized that flexible energy storage, ideally for long periods of time, even seasonally, is required to realize the potential of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions. In the context of energy storage, synthetic methane production is unique in being able to link electricity and gas networks, while power-to-heat technologies integrate electricity and district heating networks. Therefore, natural gas and district heating infrastructures have the capacity to transport and store large amounts of renewable energy and represent an underutilized asset for the long-term storage. Consequently, blending hydrogen into natural gas pipeline networks or building/expanding dedicated hydrogen networks could become a widespread, long-term, and integral practice used as a means of balancing renewable energy production, providing long-term storage, decarbonizing sources of heat, and improving security of supply.

This Special Issue comprises papers on optimal planning, design, and operation of fluid flow pipeline systems across different energy sectors. It intends to investigate the latest challenges and opportunities for natural gas and district heating systems in the context of modeling of energy transport and storage processes, providing high system capacity and reliability and helping to mitigate integration costs of variable renewables across different energy sectors.

Prof. Dr. Maciej Chaczykowski
Prof. Dr. Andrzej J. Osiadacz
Guest Editors

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