Sektorkopplung – Was ist darunter zu verstehen?

Sector coupling has emerged in recent years as a new concept in energy and climate policy and is currently very important in the energy policy debate as one of the central measures to reduce greenhouse gases. An evaluation of the literature shows, however, that there is no uniform understanding of the term sector coupling.Based on the analysis of which sectors are linked to each other at all, which technologies are usually covered by sector coupling and which different objectives are pursued with sector coupling, the article provides a broader definition. This includes both the direct use of renewable electricity and the conversion of electricity into gas or liquid fuels. Furthermore, it is shown that a restriction to renewable electricity does not have to be effective either, but that the use of conventional electricity or other renewable energy sources can also make a valuable contribution to sector coupling. In addition to the coupling of transformation and demand sectors, the linking of demand-side sectors can also be counted as sector coupling via infrastructures.In order to make a sector coupling a success, the regulatory framework must be adapted and legal aspects associated with the conceptual understanding have to be clarified.