One of the first deliverables to have been developed by the project is the CSSC matrix for city storage and sector coupling (CSSC) technologies. This tool makes it possible for municipalities to identify different city storage and sector coupling solutions for their given city type and to build on the experience of Danube region cities with similar characteristics. This is important because some municipalities in the Danube region are not aware of the available CSSC approaches while others are hesitant to apply such solutions because of the presumed technical complexity and financial costs.

For this very reason, CSSC Lab project has dedicated an entire work package to finding and presenting possible solutions for these municipalities to apply. The selection of 19 representative cities used for the regional analyses prepared by the project served as the basis of the matrix. These cities were selected based on the representativeness of their characteristics and their CSSC potential, forming the backbone of 10 country analyses. For the typologisation, a number of categories were selected considered relevant for the implementation of CSSC technologies. The following were singled out as particularly relevant: The area covered (in km2), the population size, the profile and the shape of the chosen city. As a result, five representative city types were identified for the project area (Table 1).

The regional analyses and the classification of the city types combined made it possible to develop a matrix showing the existing application or potential use of CSSC technologies for the five different city types. The technologies listed are based on a selection made as part of the first work package. This matrix permits municipal representatives to assign their city to a city type and receive suggestions for appropriate CSSC technologies. While the list of solutions is not exhaustive and is based on the information provided by the project partners for individual, representative cities in the region, it does provide an overview of the various technologies. Municipal representatives are advised to take these as a guideline and then later carry out a more detailed assessment taking into account the full range of characteristics of their city. Additionally, municipalities benefit from the technologies’ transfer potential.

In the next deliverable, fact sheets will be developed so that municipal stakeholders can narrow down the selected measures to the city level. These fact sheets will describe – from the perspective of a municipality – the requirements of the individual technologies in more detail and provide information on costs, efficiency and other factors. They will then be published on forthcoming CSSC Lab’s Platform to ensure wide dissemination. In addition to the fact sheets, several model solutions for particularly relevant CSSC technologies (e.g. photovoltaic installations for the charging of e-cars in rural communities) will be selected. In the course of the project, these model solutions will be further described and be made country-specific, taking into account the political diversity in the region. Check our next blog in which we will share information on the different fact sheets and the selection of the model solutions.