Table of Contents
Institutions & Markets
Sector coupling
This topic is part of the ISGAN Wiki and is currently being developed. You can contribute directly by clicking the edit button, or use the Topic Builder for guided input. A confirmed wiki account is required. Register and allow up to three days for admin confirmation. Before contributing, read the ISGAN Wiki Editorial Guidelines.
Sector coupling connects electricity, heat, transport, and gas to enable cost-efficient decarbonisation and grid flexibility, but the term covers two distinct strategies that are often conflated.
Why this matters
[To be drafted]
Shared definitions
Sector coupling involves the increased integration of energy end-use and supply sectors with one another. It can contribute to the cost-efficient decarbonisation of the energy system by valuing synergy potentials and interlinkages between different parts of the energy system.1)
The concept originated in Germany, where it referred primarily to the electrification of end-use sectors such as heating and transport, with the aim of increasing the share of renewable energy in those sectors and providing balancing services to the power sector. More recently the concept has broadened to include supply-side integration between the electricity and gas sectors.2)
Two complementary strategies can be distinguished:3)
- End-use sector coupling involves the electrification of energy demand while reinforcing the interaction between electricity supply and end-use sectors such as heating and transport.
- Cross-vector integration involves the integrated use of different energy infrastructures and vectors, in particular electricity, heat, and gas, either on the supply side through conversion of surplus electricity to hydrogen, or on the demand side through use of residual heat from power generation or industrial processes for district heating.
Figure 1. Sector coupling: end-use sector coupling and cross-vector integration.
Source: Van Nuffel et al. (2018), European Parliament ITRE.4)
ENTSO-E distinguishes between sector coupling and sector integration more precisely: sector coupling refers specifically to the close linking of the electricity and gas sectors, equivalent to power-to-gas, while sector integration refers to the use of final energy in end-use sectors including transport and heating.5) Both strategies require hardware and an adequate legal and regulatory framework.
Perspectives
Actors and stakeholders
Technologies and infrastructure
Institutional structures
Distinctions and overlaps
Sector coupling vs. sector integration
In ENTSO-E's framing, sector coupling refers specifically to linking electricity and gas markets and infrastructure (power-to-gas), while sector integration refers to the use of electricity or gas in end-use sectors such as transport or heating. In the broader European Parliament framing, both are subsets of sector coupling. The distinction is not universally applied but matters when specifying the technical or regulatory scope of a measure.6)
Related topics
Topic notes
Content notes from source material:
- Three sources used: European Parliament ITRE (2018), ENTSO-E (2019), energy transition wiki (used for context only, not cited). The ENTSO-E distinction between sector coupling and sector integration is the key conceptual clarification for this page.
- The energy transition wiki entry https://wiki.energytransition.org is not a primary source and was not cited.
- The figure sectorcoupling.png needs licence confirmation before publication.
- Page owner: Klaus Kubeczko.
1)
Van Nuffel, L., Dedecca, J. G., Smit, T., & Rademaekers, K. (2018). Sector coupling: How can it be enhanced in the EU to foster grid stability and decarbonise? European Parliament, Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE). https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/626091/IPOL_STU(2018)626091_EN.pdf
2)
, 3)
, 4)
Van Nuffel, L., Dedecca, J. G., Smit, T., & Rademaekers, K. (2018). Sector coupling: How can it be enhanced in the EU to foster grid stability and decarbonise? European Parliament, ITRE. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/626091/IPOL_STU(2018)626091_EN.pdf
5)
ENTSO-E. (2019). Sector coupling and sector integration: Position paper. European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity. https://eepublicdownloads.entsoe.eu/clean-documents/Publications/Position%20papers%20and%20reports/Sector_coupling_integration_PositionPaper.pdf
6)
ENTSO-E. (2019). Sector coupling and sector integration: Position paper. ENTSO-E. https://eepublicdownloads.entsoe.eu/clean-documents/Publications/Position%20papers%20and%20reports/Sector_coupling_integration_PositionPaper.pdf