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The purpose of this paper is to outline an integrative modelling approach that includes agricultural and forestry process chains in an energy system model, on a regional scale. The main focus is on land use for biomass production, aimed at satisfying the demands for energy, food, and materials.

The described model combines geographic modelling with a linear optimisation approach. The cost‐based optimisation of the energy system includes agricultural and forestry process chains. The system's commodities and processes are identified and these are linked appropriately in the specifications of the reference system. Spatial models provided geographically specific input data for the optimisation; these spatial models were based on publicly available data, regional heat and electricity demands, and regional biomass potentials. The optimisation tool was applied in two case studies.

The optimisation results allow an improved understanding of the interdependencies between regional agricultural and forestry structures and the regional energy system. Future developments of the energy system can be quantified. The application of the model in the case studies has revealed the limits on biomass availability, even in rural areas, and the fossil fuel price sensitivity of an optimal system setup.

Geographic models linked to a forecast model approach and based on publicly available data allow a high spatial resolution by taking into account the region‐specific conditions and mean that the modelling approach is transferrable to other regions. This paper provides an initial insight into the linkage between bottom‐up optimisation and spatial modelling, representing an innovative approach that is yet to be well explored.

The purpose of the work is to elaborate a model framework that includes location related temporal characteristics in energy supply and demand. These characteristics in mind an imaginable energy system setup can be explored with the framework. In a case study the possible coverage of the global energy demand, by solar‐ and wind power in junction with a backup technology is treated.

Spatially and temporally high disaggregated data describing different aspects of the energy supply side (especially devoted to renewable resources and related availabilities) as well as the energy demand side are investigated. This information is processed to serve as input for the TIMES model generator in a special adapted model. The complete workflow is enclosed in a graphical user interface implemented as a plugin in the software package ArGIS.

The elaborated case study shows the practicability of the approach to treat spatially and temporally high disaggregated problems in the energy system. Especially sensibilities of an optimal system setup in dependency on assumptions on specific costs for energy transport or storage can be investigated in a very detailed manner.

Since the spatial and temporal disaggregated examination implies the treatment of huge datasets, simplifications have to be made in the description of the technological setup of the energy system. The approach is appropriate to describe single scenario set‐ups but not a complete forecast based system development.

Geographic information systems (GIS) and geographic information are tied together with a conventional modeling approach of energy systems. That enables the cognition and quantification of influences and sensibilities related to spatial and temporal deviations in our energy system either on the supply or the demand side.

Two main activities of the EC FP7 Risk of Energy Availability: Common Corridors for Europe Supply Security (REACCESS) project applied a systematic approach to collect the main characteristics of energy supply corridors starting from mining activities in exporting regions up to the import infrastructures and capacities of EU27+countries. The aim of the present paper is to summarise identified information on import potentials and the possible corridors for the EU27+energy supply of the future. This information is used as new starting point for the energy system modelling in the REACCESS project.

Detailed information on existing, planned or potential developments derived from literature reviews and expert surveys, as well as from our own calculations, was compiled in a consistent database. By using suitable geographic information system (GIS) tools, all the identified energy supply routes were represented graphically and analysed with reference to their spatial characteristics.

The information collected was used to generate a comprehensive database of resources, production capacities and import routes. Together with further detailed information on technological and economic parameters (not shown in this paper), this database provides new complete and consistent input for the modelling of import corridors and associated risks regarding the energy systems in Europe.

The originality of the paper is the synthesis of a huge volume of information provided in the literature and own additional calculations in a consistent way. The resulting database provides the framework for the integration of security of supply aspects into energy scenario modelling, which is an important modelling challenge and one of the main tasks of REACCESS. The study considers oil, gas, coal and nuclear fuel as well as renewable imports of solar electricity and biomass, and also hydrogen as a possible new energy carrier.

This article is based on the REACCESS research project, sponsored by the European Commission, with the objectives of evaluating the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of present and future energy corridors between the European countries (EU27) and their main energy suppliers. GCC countries have an important role to play given their role in EU energy supply and in greenhouse gas emissions. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A single energy model was built by hard‐linking the TIMES integrated assessment model (TIAM‐World), the Pan European TIMES model (PET), and the RECOR model (REaccess CORridors), including more than 1,000 possible energy corridors supplying the European countries. Another major methodology advance was to create a hybrid objective function, combining the usual cost objective and a metric representing the supply risk incurred by EU27. The risk component was constructed via a novel approach that aggregates the elemental risk parameters of each corridor using a Min‐Max function. Four contrasted scenarios were assessed, based on security and climate objectives.

Among the many results, it appears that a large reduction of the supply risk may be achieved at a very modest increase of the total energy system cost for EU27. Cross‐effects of climate mitigation and security objectives are also observed. Due to the diversification requirement, the contribution of GCC countries to EU energy imports increases under risk scenario. Sensitivity analyses show that the European energy system seems unable to reduce the market shares of fossil fuels import from MENA countries, including GCC countries, much below the reference case, proving the strong dependency of EU27 energy system from these countries. However, total fossil fuels imports, as well as total energy consumed, are decreased under the risk adverse scenarios.

Methodological developments, as described above, result in an advanced tool to assess how to increase the “energy system security”, by reducing the concentration of supply countries, diversifying import sources but also reducing the energy dependence at the end‐use side.

The paper represents a starting point of a broader research project in strategic start-up communication. The main purpose of this study is to demonstrate the current state of research in this area and to compare those insights with an explorative study on the start-up ecosystem.

A neo-institutional framework is combined with the dual narrative framework of strategic communication and emergence to explain the emergence of strategic communication in this organizational field (start-up ecosystems). Research questions are derived from a systematic literature review and subjected to exploratory testing in two different qualitative surveys, with experts and investors, reflecting an external perspective, and with start-ups themselves.

Results from the literature review and the explorative interviews with expert external actors indicate eight areas in which start-ups face strategic communication challenges: the basic orientation of strategic communication, branding, external image, stakeholder relations, allocation of financial resources, owner centricity, human resources and internal communication. External consultants and funders recommend highly planned approaches like target group-oriented communication, well thought-out positioning with uniform messages and precisely applied communication channels. However, the internal perspective of start-ups presents a contrary picture based on emergent products of strategic communication.

The study indicates the importance of both the emergence in strategic start-up communication and the demonstration of planned strategic communication. Investigating a whole start-up ecosystem in a country regarding the emergence of strategic communication forms, practices and products offers potential for cross-country comparative research.

The findings indicate key challenges of strategic communication of start-ups. Bearing in mind these key challenges when founding a start-up can make a difference in the success of the start-up.

The article presents the first systematic literature review in the area of strategic start-up communication and a theoretical framework for further investigation. Moreover, the results of the explorative study demonstrate the importance of the different forms of planning and emergence in strategic start-up communication. Hence, this paper provides practical implications for practitioners working and investing in the start-up ecosystem.