TY - JOUR A1 - Schumm, Leon A1 - Haas, Jannik A1 - Peer, Rebecca A1 - Sterner, Michael T1 - The role of hydrogen offtaker regulation in highly renewable electricity systems JF - Energy N2 - The growing demand for green hydrogen necessitates a rapid scale-up of production and exports to meet decarbonization targets globally. However, current ramp-up efforts remain insufficient, calling for policies that unlock the potential of hydrogen as a low-carbon energy carrier. A key lever is the offtaker regulation, which impacts the pace and sustainability of export projects. This study investigates minimum renewable share requirements for hydrogen exports in countries with high renewable electricity shares. Using New Zealand as a case study, we develop a fully sector-coupled capacity expansion and dispatch model, integrating hydrogen and electricity network planning based on PyPSA-Earth. The model optimizes New Zealand’s energy system under varying export scenarios, renewable electricity shares, and resulting system impacts. We find that domestic electricity demand and renewable expansion rates dominate long-term outcomes, while progressive regulation enables short-term hydrogen and Power-to-X exports. Relaxing the renewable threshold from 80% to 60% triples export volumes from 2.5 TWh to 8.2 TWh by 2030. We propose a two-stage requirement: an initially progressive threshold to attract investment with low consequential emissions, followed by stricter regulation to prevent high emissions, rising domestic electricity prices, and declining hydrogen competitiveness. This framework, demonstrated for New Zealand, can guide hydrogen-exporting countries worldwide. KW - Climate neutrality KW - e-fuels KW - Emission intensity KW - Energy systems modelling KW - Hydrogen exports KW - Hydrogen offtaker regulation KW - Power-to-X Y1 - 2026 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.139513 N1 - Corresponding author der OTH Regensburg: Leon Schumm VL - 342 PB - Elsevier ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bauer, Franz A1 - Sterner, Michael T1 - Impacts of lifestyle changes on energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions in Germany JF - Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews N2 - Most energy scenario studies typically focus on technological options and fuel substitution for decarbonising future energy systems. Lifestyle changes are rarely considered, although they can significantly reduce energy demand and climate change mitigation efforts. By using an energy system model, this study shows that it is possible to reduce final energy demand in Germany by 61 % in 2050 relative to 2019 levels, resulting in an annual per capita energy demand of 44 GJ for a representative country of the Global North. This goal can be achieved through a combination of technological measures and lifestyle changes without sacrificing a decent standard of living. Societal chances can eliminate reliance on not-yet-established negative emission technologies, reduce energy dependency, and reduce the need for energy-intensive hydrogen and e-fuels. Downsizing the energy system provides an opportunity for strengthening climate change mitigation, decrease material demand and reduce land use. KW - Climate change mitigation KW - Energy system modelling KW - Sufficiency KW - Lifestyle changes KW - Climate neutrality KW - Low energy demand KW - German climate targets Y1 - 2025 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-77682 SN - 1364-0321 N1 - Corresponding author der OTH Regensburg: Franz Bauer VL - 207 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -