In the Integrated Electricity Market Design research program, the EWI analyses four overarching aspects:
System & technology
Which technologies decarbonize the electricity system most cost-effectively? The EWI is researching how flexible loads such as heat pumps or battery storage affect the electricity system as a whole. Their interactions with other sectors, such as the heating sector, are also being examined.
End consumption & tariffs
With new, more variable tariff structures, consumption could be adapted to increasingly fluctuating generation in the future. This applies to both households and industry.
Investment & financing
The availability of capital, both for the companies involved and for the economy as a whole, should be taken into account when discussing the design of the electricity market. A lack of capital could otherwise mean that the necessary investments are not made. The financial perspective is also essential in short to medium-term risk and portfolio management, for example when evaluating investment opportunities such as battery storage.
Regulation & market design
These different aspects are brought together in the question of how regulation and market design can influence the use of technology and investments. The perspective of the electricity grid is also explicitly considered here. Regulation can reduce the need for grid expansion and thus increase the efficiency of the energy transition.

Qualitative and quantitative methods are combined for research in the electricity market design research program. The EWI’s own DIMENSION and SPIDER models with their detailed representation of the electricity system are also used for this purpose.
The Integrated Electricity Market Design research program includes both basic and applied research. The research program is funded by the “Integrated Electricity Market Design Funding Initiative” of the Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Energiewirtschaftlichen Instituts an der Universität zu Köln e.V. with around 100,000 euros per year. Of this funding, 40 percent is used for the further development of EWI’s own models and basic research and 55 percent for specific studies and analyses. The companies involved in the “Integrated Electricity Market Design” funding initiative can be viewed on the website of the Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Energiewirtschaftlichen Instituts an der Universität zu Köln e. V. (Society for the Promotion of the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne).