Evaluating Partners for Renewable Energy Trading: A Multidimensional Framework and Tool

Kai Schulze, Mile Mišić, Nikola Radojičić () and Berkin Serin
Additional contact information
Kai Schulze: Institute of Political Science, Technical University of Darmstadt, Residenzschloss 1, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany
Mile Mišić: Institute of Political Science, Technical University of Darmstadt, Residenzschloss 1, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany
Nikola Radojičić: Institute of Political Science, Technical University of Darmstadt, Residenzschloss 1, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany
Berkin Serin: Department of Health and Sport Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Connollystraße 32, 80809 Munich, Germany

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-22

Abstract: The worsening climate crisis has increased the urgency of transitioning energy systems from fossil fuels to renewable sources. However, many industrialized countries are struggling to meet their growing demand for renewable energy (RE) through domestic production alone and, therefore, seek to import additional RE using carriers such as hydrogen, ammonia, or metals. The pressing question for RE importers is therefore how to select trading partners, i.e., RE exporting countries. Recent research has identified a plethora of different selection criteria, reflecting the complexity of energy systems and international cooperation. However, there is little guidance on how to reduce this complexity to more manageable levels as well as a lack of tools for effective partner evaluation. This article aims to fill these gaps. It proposes a new multidimensional framework for evaluating and comparing potential RE trading partners based on four dimensions: economy and technology, environment and development, regulation and governance, and innovation and cooperation. Focusing on Germany as an RE importer, an exploratory factor analysis is used to identify a consolidated set of composite selection criteria across these dimensions. The results suggest that Germany’s neighboring developed countries and current net energy exporters, such as Canada and Australia, are among the most attractive RE trading partners for Germany. A dashboard tool has been developed to provide the framework and composite criteria, including adjustable weights to reflect the varying preferences of decision-makers and stakeholders. The framework and the dashboard can provide helpful guidance and transparency for partner selection processes, facilitating the creation of RE trade networks that are essential for a successful energy transition.

Keywords: energy transition; renewable energy trade; trading partner selection; multi-criteria analysis; hydrogen (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3632/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3632/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3632-:d:1383585

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().