MODELLING RESSOURCES

Open-source models and data

An increasing number of open-source models, databases, and documentation resources are available to the ETSAP community. These initiatives make TIMES-based models more transparent, reproducible, and accessible, while supporting capacity building and collaboration. The TIMES code is required to run open-source models.

Models, manuals and databases

A multi-regional model for Europe:
JRC-EU-TIMES

The JRC-EU-TIMES model is designed for analysing the role of energy technologies and innovation in meeting Europe’s energy and climate policy objectives. A complete, synchronised version of the model, including all input Excel files is available via Zenodo (Version 1.1.1; 2019). This JRC dataset makes it easier for users to reproduce and extend European energy system analyses.

Documentation of a multi-regional TIMES model for Norway

The IFE-TIMES-Norway model, developed since 2017 in cooperation with the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), is documented and updated annually. The most recent version (Documentation of IFE-TIMES-Norway v4, 2024) covers five onshore regions, five offshore oil & gas regions, and five offshore wind regions, with a 2050 horizon divided into 96 sub-annual time slices. This long-term optimisation model builds on earlier TIMES-Norway and MARKAL-Norway frameworks, offering detailed techno-economic insights into Norwegian energy transitions.

Databases from a TIMES model for Switzerland

Building on the Swiss TIMES Energy System Model (STEM), PSI has contributed to the SWEET-CROSS project by making model data transparent and accessible via the CROSSDat platform. CROSSDat aggregates energy-related datasets into a unified platform, improving efficiency of access and facilitating collaboration across research teams.

A model for Ireland with its documentation

The TIMES-Ireland Model (TIM), developed by the MaREI Centre at University College Cork, provides long-term scenarios to assess how Ireland can meet its decarbonisation targets for 2030 and 2050. The model and its associated documentation are made available alongside a Github repository that contains the underlying scenario data and descriptions, ensuring transparency and reproducibility of the analysis.

Databases from a TIMES model for Sweden

The Swedish Energy Agency has published three publicly available techno-economic datasets tailored for TIMES-Sweden in 2022 on Zenodo :

  1. industry processes,
  2. fuel production technologies, with a focus on biofuels, and
  3. industrial heat generation technologies.

Although developed for Sweden, these databases are designed to be adaptable for other regions, and are updated continuously as part of TIMES-Sweden development.

Technology data

The transition to sustainable energy systems requires a deep understanding of both existing and emerging energy technologies. TIMES models depend on extensive techno-economic data inputs — investment and operating costs, efficiency, lifetime, emission coefficients, etc. — and require projections of how these parameters evolve over time.

To support this need, ETSAP developed the E-TechDS (Energy Technology Data Source) between 2020 and 2015, a consistent and comprehensive dataset on energy supply and demand technologies. E-TechDS was structured as a series of Technology Briefs, each offering:

  • 5–10 pages of information on the process, status, performance, costs, potential, and barriers of a specific technology cluster.
  • A summary data table with quantitative parameters for direct use in TIMES models.
  • Visuals, charts, and highlights to contextualize key insights.

The ETSAP Technology Briefs were widely used not only by modellers, but also energy analysts, experts, policymakers, investors, and the media in both developed and developing countries.
Although the E-Tech Briefs are now archived after more than a decade of use, they remain a valuable reference for the modelling community. ETSAP may resume or update this activity in the future.

Stay tuned for more updates and news on technology data initiatives.

Are you an energy technology expert?

You can propose a new Technology Briefs: please contact us at support@etsap.org.

Result dashboards

Interactive dashboards and web applications are increasingly used to make TIMES model results accessible to a broader audience. They allow policymakers, analysts, and stakeholders to explore scenarios directly through visualisation tools, compare outcomes, and better understand the implications of different pathways.

New Zealand, with TIMES-NZ 2.0

A web-based visualisation tool was developed to help users explore energy scenarios generated by the TIMES-NZ 2.0 model. The platform provides pre-formatted and interactive charts that make it easy to navigate results and extract key insights. A video tutorial is available under the “About” tab, and an integrated “Quick introduction tour” guides new users through the tool. The TIMES-NZ 20 model files are also available for download on GitHub.

Ireland, with TIM (TIMES-Ireland Model)

The TIMES-Ireland Model (TIM) results are made accessible through the TIM Carbon Budgets 2021 Web App, developed by the MaREI Centre at University College Cork. The platform visualises scenarios for 2021–2050, compares outcomes across pathways, and allows users to select and contrast two scenarios at a time. Model documentation and scenario description  are integrated into the interface. This tool has proven highly effective for engaging policymakers and industry stakeholders in Ireland’s decarbonisation dialogue.

Global, with multiple TIMES models

As part of the Paris Reinforce, an open-access data exchange platform, I2AM PARIS, was developed to strengthen the science-policy interface in light of the Paris Agreement. It hosts results from a wide range of Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), including MARKAL-TIMES models such as ETSAP-TIAM, EU-TIMES, HU-TIMES, TERI’s MARKAL-India, NATEM, and TIMES-CAC. The platform provides transparent access to scenarios that support Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and the Global Stocktake.

Belgium, with TIMES-BE (Belgium)

In Belgium, EnergyVille developed an online Tableau viewer for the TIMES-BE model as part of the PATHS2050 project. The tool presents detailed scenario results for electricity supply and demand, allows users to zoom into specific scenarios, compare across cases, and download the underlying data. Online documentation of the EnergyVille TIMES-BE model is also available.

Canada, with NATEM (North American TIMES Energy Model)

In Canada, an online Pathways Explorer was developed using the North American TIMES Energy Model (NATEM). This platform brings together a very large portfolio of 100–150 net-zero pathways for all Canadian jurisdictions, built under different assumptions to explore a wide range of futures. The explorer is designed to facilitate consultation and communication of results with decision-makers from companies and governments.