Marta Victoria

Associate Professor of Solar Photovoltaics and Energy Systems Modelling

Aarhus University

I am an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering at Aarhus University. My research focuses on the modelling of large-scale energy systems with high renewable penetration paying special attention to the role of solar photovoltaics.

I obtained my BSc and MSc in Aerospace Engineering at the Technical University of Madrid where I also got my PhD in high-efficiency photovoltaic modules at the Solar Energy Institute.

Currently, I lead the EXTREMES project where we investigate the impact of extreme weather events on energy systems and I implemenent system modelling to research on the role of CO2 capture and conversion technologies within the NNF CO2 Research Center. Moreover, I participate in the HYPERFARM project, where we investigate different Agrivoltaic concepts and I lead Aarhus University’s participation in the AURORA project where we are establishing energy communities at four major technical universities in Europe. In the past, I have participated in the REINVEST project to research alternative transition pathways for Europe and Denmark.

I am a member of the Open Energy Modelling Initiative, which aims to promote openness and transparency in energy system modelling, and I co-develop the open-source energy model PyPSA-Eur.

Contact

I’m always interested to speak to enthusiastic students looking for a thesis project or research experience. Send me an email with your CV and research interests.

Selected publications

See a complete list of publications here.

Comparative analysis of photovoltaic configurations for agrivoltaic systems in Europe

Kamran Ali Khan Niazi, Marta Victoria

Photovoltaics at multi-terawatt scale: Waiting is not an option

Nancy Haegle, Pierre Verlinden, Marta Victoria

Endogenous learning for green hydrogen in a sector-coupled energy model for Europe

Elisabeth Zeyen, Marta Victoria, Tm Brown

The Potential Role of a Hydrogen Network in Europe

Fabian Neumann, Elisabeth Zeyen, Marta Victoria, Tom Brown

Cost and Efficiency Requirements for Successful Electricity Storage in a Highly Renewable European Energy System

Ebbe Khyl Gøtske, Gorm Bruun Andresen, Marta Victoria

Long-term implications of reduced gas imports on the decarbonization of the European energy system

Tim Tørnes Pedersen, Ebbe Khyl Gøtske, Adam Dvorak, Gorm Bruun Andresen, Marta Victoria

Speed of technological transformations required in Europe to achieve different climate goals

Marta Victoria, Elisabeth Zeyen, Tom Brown

Solar photovoltaics is ready to power a sustainable future

Most Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) have underestimated the role that solar PV can play in future low-carbon energy systems. This is critical as IAMs results constitute the main scenarios included in the Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Marta Victoria, Nancy Haegel, Ian Marius Peters, Ron Sinton, Arnulf Jäger-Waldau, Carlos del Cañizo, Christian Breyer, Matthew Stocks, Andrew Blakers, Izumi Kaizuka, Keiichi Komoto, Arno Smets

Solar photovoltaics is ready to power a sustainable future

Early decarbonisation of the European energy system pays off

Transition paths are traditionally analysed using coarse models with annual resolution and neglecting transmission grids, while power system models with detailed network representation miss other sectors and the existence of a limited carbon budget.

Marta Victoria, Kun Zhu, Tom Brown, Gorm B. Andresen, Martin Greiner

Early decarbonisation of the European energy system pays off

Using validated reanalysis data to investigate the impact of the PV system configurations at high penetration levels in European countries

Here, we proposed a method to convert irradiance data from reanalysis into solar generation time series and validated them using historical data. The model was used to produce long-term time series for 30 European countries that are used as input for large-scale energy models.

Marta Victoria, Gorm B. Andresen

Using validated reanalysis data to investigate the impact of the PV system configurations at high penetration levels in European countries

The role of photovoltaics in a sustainable European energy system under variable CO2 emissions targets, transmission capacities, and costs assumptions

Marta Victoria, Kun Zhu, Tom Brown, Gorm B. Andresen, Martin Greiner

The role of storage technologies throughout the decarbonisation of the sector-coupled European energy system

The analysis included in this paper overcomes the previous common understanding (“storage is needed in highly renewable energy systems”) by showing the emergence of two different kind of storage technologies and the requirement to combine both to ensure feasible operation of the system.

Marta Victoria, Kun Zhu, Tom Brown, Gorm B. Andresen, Martin Greiner

The role of storage technologies throughout the decarbonisation of the sector-coupled European energy system

Teaching

Courses

Currently, I teach the following MSc courses at the Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering at Aarhus University. In the fall semester, I teach Solar Energy, and Renewable Energy Systems. I also participate in the course Renewable Energy Technologies. In the spring semester, I teach Thermodynamics.

Public Outreach

I participate in various initiatives and platforms aimed at fostering an informed and rigorous public debate on the energy transition. I am a member of the Critical Energy Observatory, the Renewable Energy Foundation and ONGAWA, Technology for Human Development. I have published several articles in press, delivered one TEDx talk, co-authored one report to explain the operation of the electricity market in Spain and several other topics. See here a complete list of my public outreach activities.

In 2021, I was one of the 100 experts collaborating with the Foresight Office of the Spanish Government on the national strategy España 2050. I co-authored Chapter 4 on how to become a climate-neutral and sustainable society.