EC – High-resolution energy atlas

The European Union is dedicated to achieving a radical decarbonisation of its energy system by 2050, with a focus on increased electrification, energy efficiency improvements, and the use of low-carbon energy carriers such as hydrogen. To effectively transform energy usage and production, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of the geographical distribution of energy supply and demand. In order to meet this goal, the Energy and Industry Geography Lab (EIGL) of the Joint Research Centre has created a high-resolution atlas of energy demand in the EU, the first of its kind. This atlas provides detailed information on how energy is consumed throughout the EU, at a resolution of 1x1 km. This technical report outlines the data and methodology used to develop the high-resolution atlas. It includes information on data sources such as energy balances from EUROSTAT, energy scenarios from the Directorate-General for Energy, as well as additional data on non-energy demand, energy inputs, and the location of individual facilities. It also incorporates information from hydrogen production projects, CO2 emission data, power plant databases, regional statistics, and land cover data. The report describes the three steps of the methodology used to downscale national energy consumption data to 1x1 km cells. This involves dividing the energy demand data into consumption at specific geographic points and energy demand that is not yet associated with specific locations. The latter is then allocated at a regional level using publicly available datasets, and finally distributed across the 1x1 km cells based on population and land cover data. The report includes illustrative results at the EU level and concludes with proposals for future steps. Additional information can be found in the annexes of the report.