Hans Auer

Hans Auer serves as Professor in Energy System Economics and Head of the Energy Economics Group (EEG) at Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) since 2024, with additional appointment as Adjunct Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) since 2023. His leadership spans academic research, European project coordination, and energy policy development.

Education:

• MSc in Electrical Engineering (1996)
• PhD in Energy Economics (2000)
• Venia Docendi in Energy Economics (2012)

Research Focus: Professor Auer specializes in energy market design, system modeling, and decarbonization strategies with emphasis on renewable integration, sector coupling, and grid flexibility. His work bridges theoretical modeling with practical policy applications across European energy systems, addressing challenges from local communities to continental-scale transitions through advanced computational methods and economic analysis.

Publication Trends: Recent publications (2023-2026) reveal concentrated research on European decarbonization pathways, hydrogen storage economics, electric vehicle integration, and peer-to-peer energy trading. Key thematic clusters include scenario modeling for 2050+ transitions, optimization of flexible resources in congested grids, and socio-technical analysis of local energy communities within circular economy frameworks.

Academic Leadership: With over 25 years of supervision experience for bachelor, master, and PhD students, Professor Auer coordinates major European initiatives including PSS2030+ (power system security), iDesignRES (renewable integration tools), and RENVELOPE (building energy retrofits). His project portfolio demonstrates sustained funding success across EU Horizon programs and national research agencies.

Operational Framework: Leading the EEG research unit within TU Wien's Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives, he directs a multidisciplinary team conducting policy-relevant analysis for European Commission bodies, national regulators, and industry stakeholders through evidence-based modeling of energy transitions.