Beyond Coal

Beyond Coal is an Interactive.li-based, ready-to-run interactive session.

The session aims to raise awareness about the challenges associated with phasing out coal use as part of the broader effort to combat climate change and curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Designed for university students, policymakers, and corporate sustainability teams, Beyond Coal provides an ideal support for:

• Academic courses on energy economics or climate policy
• Professional workshops for energy sector stakeholders
• Public outreach initiatives to demystify the energy transition

Understanding the Challenge

Achieving net-zero emissions requires phasing out coal, a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet coal remains deeply embedded in many national economies, providing cheap, dispatchable power and supporting millions of jobs. Transitioning away from coal is not only a technical challenge, but also a socio-economic and political balancing act. Traditional lectures rarely capture these complexities in a way that encourages profound reflections and engagement.

Why Game-Based Learning?

Beyond Coal turns abstract policy debates into tangible, data-driven decision-making exercises. Delivered as an interactive session via the Interactive.li platform, the game replicates the competing priorities associated with the energy transition, balancing grid reliability, cost efficiency, and decarbonisation targets. Through competition, collaboration, and scenario exploration, participants move from passive learning to active, informed experimentation.

Inside Beyond Coal

In this serious game, participants assume the role of energy planners for a fictional country, addressing the competing priorities of reducing emissions, ensuring grid reliability, and minimising costs. Guided by structured briefings, they submit investment strategies that are immediately evaluated using integrated simulation models. Group results are compared, debated, and debriefed to consolidate insights.

The Science Behind the Simulation

Beyond Coal is powered by IESO, an open-source energy system optimiser developed in Python. IESO simulates electricity generation portfolios and calculates key cost, performance, and environmental impact indicators. A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) module benchmarks each group’s solution against a do-nothing baseline, providing clear insights into the trade-offs and implications of different energy transition paths.

Learning Outcomes

Beyond Coal provides a safe environment for experimentation, allowing participants to gain practical exposure to energy system modelling and optimisation. Throughout the session, they learn how policy decisions affect generation costs, emissions, and power system reliability, and they begin to appreciate the technical, social, and economic dimensions of decarbonisation.

A Dynamic Learning Experience

Beyond Coal demonstrates how simulation and gamification can foster engagement, build systems thinking, and drive informed discussion. By integrating competitive teamwork, collaborative strategy-building, and iterative scenario testing, the exercise shifts participants from passive absorption to engaged, evidence-based experimentation.

Take the Next Step

Equip your audience with the tools to navigate the energy transition. Discover Beyond Coal or contact us to arrange a demonstration and see how game-based learning can spark insight and informed debate.