Renewable energy communities (RECs) can play a vital role in integrating renewable gases like biomethane into Austria’s energy system. This study examines critical gaps in national regulations for renewable gas RECs (short ‘gas RECs’) and the need for clarification in certification processes. The novelty of this study lies in the development of energy community (EC) variants for renewable gas, focusing on Industrial, Communal, and Agricultural Symbiosis. A case study of Bruck/Leitha evaluates the techno-economic feasibility of gas RECs, showing that while biomethane’s production costs are higher than natural gas by 2.14 cents/kWh in 2021, it offers greater price stability. Although biomethane is economically less competitive, it provides significant ecological benefits. The results underline the importance of policy advancements, including funding mechanisms and regulatory clarity, to support the integration of gas RECs into Austria’s energy system.

Hydrogen blending into natural gas grids can support early renewable hydrogen deployment, but admissible injection depends on local gas flow, blending limits, and upstream hydrogen concentrations. This paper analyses these effects for a regional high-pressure gas-grid section in Styria, Austria, with two hydrogen injection points. A transient gas-network model derives time- and location-dependent injection limits, which are integrated into an electrolyser dispatch optimisation with fixed trailer demand and annual gas-grid injection demand. Three cases are compared: unrestricted injection, a “CH₄-based” limit without upstream hydrogen, and an “H₂-aware” case representing potential upstream hydrogen injection. For the analysed configuration, blending constraints shift operation away from favourable electricity-price periods, particularly when low prices coincide with reduced gas demand. In the 2025 reference case, the “H₂-aware” constraint increases the electricity-cost contribution from 4.22 to 5.45 EUR/kgH₂. A robustness analysis using electricity-price series for 2020, 2022, and 2025 shows that the “H₂-aware” constraint increases the electricity-cost contribution by 15.8–29.1% relative to unrestricted injection. The results demonstrate that dynamic gas-grid constraints should be considered when assessing blending-based electrolyser projects, while the quantitative findings remain specific to the analysed network and assumptions.

In the research and service study for the Energy Transition 2050 program, the technical excess heat potentials for both energy-intensive and energy-extensive Austrian industry were surveyed. A bottom-up approach for most of the energy-intensive industry and a top-down approach for most of the energy-extensive industry were used by the consortium under the leadership of the Chair of Energy Network Technology EVT of Montanuniversität Leoben. The surveyed potentials were classified according to temperature level of excess heat, origin from the process, spatial occurrence and industry sectors. In order to estimate the future industrial excess heat potentials, a database of the innovation network "New Energy for Industry" (NEFI) was used. For the geographical localization, the results were integrated into the existing Austrian Heat Map, which enables a comparison with heat demand densities and existing heating networks. A technical excess heat potential of about 34 TWh could be identified. Thereof, about 300 companies of the energy-intensive industry, which were mainly calculated by the bottom-up method, account for a technical excess heat potential of about 26 TWh. For the energy-extensive industry, an excess heat potential of about 4 TWh was identified for more than 1500 companies using mostly the statistical top-down method. Due to existing know-how in the consortium, the technical excess heat potentials of more than 600 sewage treatment plants could also be estimated at approx. 4 TWh.