Objectives

The LIGHTEN-IO project builds on the achievements of the SWIO-Energy partnership (2020-2023) and the IOS-net network (2019-2022) to move from bilateral scientific exchanges to the structuring of a genuine regional network dedicated to green hydrogen. It is organised around four specific objectives:

1. Structuring and coordinating a SWIO stakeholder network

The objective is to design a concerted strategy for the deployment of green hydrogen across the South-West Indian Ocean. Several tasks are carried out:

• Organisation of a kick-off seminar in Réunion and definition of deliverables, roles and milestones;
• Development of a shared regional strategy among SWIO partners;
• Establishment of a monitoring system for territorial initiatives;
• Coordination of regular training workshops and working meetings with partners.

2. Generation of regionalised climate and energy data

The objective is to produce harmonised, open datasets enabling the fine-grained assessment of renewable resources. Several tasks are carried out:

• Collection, ingestion and normalisation of climate, meteorological and energy data from in-situ observations, satellite products and climate simulations;
• Training in downscaling tools (LSCE) and development of a statistical downscaling tool based on U-Net architectures (Keras/TensorFlow);
• Production of climate fields at high spatial and temporal resolution from global model outputs;
• Distribution of data via an open-access THREDDS Data Server, accompanied by a data management plan and a data paper.

3. Assessment of green hydrogen potential and decarbonisation scenarios

The objective is to leverage regionalised data to support specific case studies and inform public decision-making. Several tasks are carried out:

• Training in the RESkit tool (IEK-3, Jülich) and assessment of green hydrogen development potential;
• Study of climate change impacts and land-use changes;
• Comparative analysis of SWIO territories and development of sectoral decarbonisation scenarios;
• Organisation of scientific conferences on the regionalisation of renewable energies and green hydrogen production in the SWIO area.

4. Dissemination, outreach and regional structuring

The objective is to ensure the dissemination of results and the sustainability of the network. Tasks include:

• Publication of scientific articles (statistical downscaling, green hydrogen potential, decarbonisation scenarios);
• Open-source release of source code and datasets;
• Production of a project website and a documentary series for outreach purposes;
• Organisation of the final seminar and training workshops in target territories.