Climate & Environment

Sector Coupling

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Definition

Sector coupling is the integration of the electricity sector with end-use sectors — heating and cooling, transport, and industry — through direct electrification (heat pumps, electric vehicles) and indirect electrification (green hydrogen and derived fuels), so that renewable electricity displaces fossil fuels across the entire energy system. It also links energy vectors in reverse, using flexible demand and storage to balance variable renewables.

References

Source organisationSupporting reference

This reference provides supporting context for how “Sector Coupling” is defined and used.

www.iea.orgBulk import source

Source imported for editorial provenance.

Overview

How it is used

The concept structures national energy strategies, the IEA's integration analysis, EU "energy system integration" policy, and infrastructure planning across power, gas and heat networks.

Why it matters

Sector coupling is the technical blueprint of full-system decarbonisation — the answer to "what do we do once the grid is clean?"