Developing a Methodology for Open Technology Data in Energy Models

Despite the presence of various Energy System Model (ESM) tools and platforms facilitating data sharing across models such as CROSSDat, the absence of a standardized structure poses a significant challenge, hindering the seamless reuse of data across different modules. MOTEL tackles this problem by applying Open Research Data (ORD) practices to technology-related data. The project aims to build an open-access data-base from unpublished data that is actively developed and used for internal model development by the Urban Energy Systems Lab (UESL) at Empa. This database will be supplemented with metadata to improve accessibil-ity, interoperability, and transparency of the underlying parameters when used in ESM studies. To achieve interoperability, we will identify and adhere to established ontologies. By connecting each parameter to a mathematically formulated model, we aim to develop a standardized methodology that explicitly defines each parameter, reducing the need for manual preprocessing and expert knowledge when using the data for ESM studies. The database will be published and maintained on the lab's existing infrastructure. In addition, we will establish a reproducible workflow demonstrating how the structured, ORD-compliant data can be seamlessly integrated into ESM tools. This will be achieved through a Python-based model builder that connects to the database and interfaces with our optimization-based ESM platform, ehubX.