Assess whether the activity-level energy-flow assumptions should be improved

Determine whether improving the commonly used but simplistic assumptions underlying the model for reconstructing the behaviour of individual activities and energy forms in European energy systems is worthwhile.

Background

The paper reconstructs energy pathways by assuming that each node redistributes energy according to fixed proportions over the course of a year. The authors acknowledge that this model for individual activities and energy forms relies on commonly used but somewhat simplistic assumptions.

The paper does not resolve whether refining these assumptions would materially improve the analysis or whether such refinement would be worthwhile; the issue is explicitly identified as a subject for future work.

References

In future work, we aim to continue to develop and refine the relation between heterogeneity and shifts in energy systems. In particular, the model to reconstruct the behaviour of individual activities and energy forms in the system is based on commonly used but also somewhat simplistic assumptions. Whether it is worthwhile to improve on these assumptions is yet to be seen.

— Energy pathway variety and the progress of the energy transition in European countries  (2609.09607 - Abadi et al., 9 Sep 2026) in Conclusions, final paragraph