8.1 Role of the Innovation Roadmap in the 2026 cycle
The TYNDP Scenarios Innovation Roadmap is “a living roadmap document detailing planned changes and larger innovation to be implemented for future scenarios cycles” (ACER, TYNDP Scenarios Framework Guidelines 2023).
For its first issuing, the ENTSOs invited feedback from the SRG on potential innovations to be included, notably in February 2025 and subsequently during the public consultation phase in June – July 2025.
The main takeaways from the first edition of the Innovation Roadmap and from stakeholder feedback are summarised in chapter 6 on stakeholder engagement.
A second edition of the Scenarios Innovation Roadmap, anticipated to be published at the beginning of the 2028 Scenario development cycle, will incorporate the feedback received and provide an overview of the innovations planned for future implementation.
8.2 Scope and approach to implementation
This chapter, together with Annex II, outlines which innovations from the current Innovation Roadmap were implemented in the 2026 cycle.
Not all innovations could be carried out within the 2026 scenario cycle, reflecting both significant changes in the scenario development architecture and a compressed timeline. As a result, a prioritisation of the toolchain enhancements and critical methodological developments was required.
Experts addressed key model issues identified during consultations to ensure a robust and high-quality baseline mode. Requirements from the SRG, TSOs, and other stakeholders were taken into account to prioritise and refine the implementation of innovations.
Further elaboration on the application of innovations in this cycle can be explored in the TYNDP 2026 Scenarios Methodology Report.
8.3 Stakeholder-driven implementation and public consultation
Stakeholder engagement played a key role not only in shaping the Innovation Roadmap, but also in guiding its implementation.
The public consultations conducted between June and July 2025 covered the Innovation Roadmap alongside key elements of the scenario framework, including energy demand and supply data, infrastructure and capacity, market and commodity assumptions, modelling methodologies and compliance aspects related to both the Central Scenario and the Economic Variants.
These consultations enabled stakeholders to gain deeper insight into the scenario development process and to actively influence both methodological choices and modelling outcomes.
In addition to the formal question-and-answer process, the Public Consultation Summary Report includes written responses from the ENTSOs to stakeholder comments, including those raised during the complementary public workshop held in July 2025.
Early stakeholder involvement proved particularly valuable, allowing engagement to focus on the definition of inputs and methodologies rather than on final outputs. The use of written responses and structured feedback loops through consultations and workshops further increased transparency and accountability in the implementation process.
8.4 Main implemented innovations
The implementation of the Innovation Roadmap focused on a set of priority areas, where innovations were either fully implemented or significantly advanced.
Advancements in hydrogen modelling
- Differentiation of short-term and seasonal storage, to improve representation of system flexibility needs,
- Improved representation of flow speeds in hydrogen pipelines and cross border flows,
- Alignment of hydrogen import assumptions with updated data, and
- Development of hybrid electrolyser production approaches to better reflect hydrogen pricing dynamics
- Simplified Hydrogen grid topology, taking into account technical constraints (bottlenecks, SMR grey dedicated to local production, offshore connections etc.).
Enhancing EV modelling
- Improved optimisation of EV charging patterns
- Refined fleet segmentation
- Strengthened modelling of Vehicle-To-Grid (V2G)
Sector coupling and emerging fuels
- Exploratory modelling of synthetic fuels, including methanol for maritime applications
Geographic and climate data integration
- Improved modelling assumptions through enhanced use of geographic and climate datasets
Modelling tools and data infrastructure
- Inclusion of Switzerland in ETM within the 2026 cycle,
- Dispatch model validation using a custom-built Key Performance Indicator dashboard, and
- Development of web-based interfaces to improve transparency and accessibility of scenario data and results.
- Introduction of a new aggregated market model output format with KPIs for consistency checks
8.5 Implementation outcomes
In summary, innovations from the Innovation Roadmap show a broadly positive implementation outcome during the TYNDP 2026 scenarios cycle.
Most of the listed innovations were implemented either fully or in a materially enhanced form, in particular across:
- the modelling toolchain,
- the quality control framework,
- system modelling (including hydrogen, EVs, storage and grid behaviour), and
- climate-aware assumptions.
Notable advancements include the upgraded visualisation platform and dashboard, the transition to an improved database enabling a better representation of future climatic variability, the establishment of a transversal Quality Control Task Force, improvements to hydrogen system representation (including imports, storage, pricing and topology), and a significantly refined EV and prosumer modelling approach.
In total, around two-thirds of the innovations identified in the roadmap were delivered within the cycle, with several others partially implemented or addressed through alternative methodologies.
8.6 Limitations and deferred innovations
The main obstacles to full implementation were not related to technical feasibility, but rather to scope and timing constraints, data availability and maturity, and the prioritisation of core deliverables.
As a result:
- some innovations were only partially implemented,
- some were addressed through simplified or alternative methodologies, and
- others were deferred or treated ex post.
These include, for example, further developments in electricity grid granularity, economic assessment integration, electric heat pump flexibility modelling, emerging technologies, and certain sector-specific or out-of-scope items such as innovative grid technologies.
8.7 Link to future cycles and traceability
The Innovation Roadmap is designed as a living document ensuring continuity across scenario cycles.
Innovations not fully implemented in the 2026 cycle, as well as additional developments identified through stakeholder engagement, will be incorporated into future iterations of the roadmap.
For a detailed overview of which innovations were implemented and how, Annex II provides a complete tracking table covering all innovations included in the roadmap. This includes the innovation number, description, implementation status, underlying rationale and links to supporting documentation where applicable.
