Energy-Economy Analysis: Linking the Macroeconomic and Systems-Enginering Approaches

A necessary condition for an internally controlled soft-linking of two models is a common, formalised language describing the areas of overlap between the models. This principle is discussed and demonstrated for the softlinking of the macroeconomic and system-engineering models in the scenario work of the Environmentally Compatible Energy Strategies (ECS) Project at IIASA. The Reference Energy System (RES) can describe how the models identify their relevant system in the overlapping areas. Using RES as the common language, a Clearing House is set up to develop the soft-linking procedures and to control the quality of the linking. The procedures permit an interpretation of a key parameter describing energy efficiency improvements in the macroeconomic model into results obtained by the systems-engineering model. Other insights emerge into the "top-down versus bottom-up approaches", which is a label sometimes used to describe the two alternative modelling perspectives. It is illustrative to discuss the insights in term of fallacies that may result from a reliance on one single perspective. We identify here the "reductionist" and the "black box" fallacies

Marginalization of end-use technologies in energy innovation for climate protection

Mitigating climate change requires directed innovation efforts to develop and deploy energy technologies. Innovation activities are directed towards the outcome of climate protection by public institutions, policies and resources that in turn shape market behaviour. We analyse diverse indicators of activity throughout the innovation system to assess these efforts. We find efficient end-use technologies contribute large potential emission reductions and provide higher social returns on investment than energy-supply technologies. Yet public institutions, policies and financial resources pervasively privilege energy-supply technologies. Directed innovation efforts are strikingly misaligned with the needs of an emissions-constrained world. Significantly greater effort is needed to develop the full potential of efficient end-use technologies

Beta-delayed fission and the production of very heavy nuclides from rapid neutron capture processes

The experimental probabilities are larger than expected, indicating an increase in level densities above the fission barriers due to the loss of symmetry at the inner barrier. As a consequence beta delayed fission may occur also in the r-process path. When discussing the production of superheavy nuclides by the r-process, beta delayed fission has therefore to be considered not only in the decay back but also for the cut-off. The results from earlier calculations on the yield of stable nuclides from nuclear explosions and r-process production ratios for chronometric pairs are carried over into a new model with only small changes. (21 refs)

Beta-delayed fission and calculations of the beta strength function

The different decay modes of neutron-rich heavy nuclei are of considerable interest for a wide range of physical phenomena. The study of these decay modes involves information about several properties of the nucleus where at the moment more knowledge about the beta strength function is particularly wanted. The microscopic calculations of the beta strength are described and the sensibility of the beta-delayed fission branching ratios and the production ratios of cosmochronometric pairs to different shapes of the beta strength function are discussed. (14 refs)