Analysis on Electrofuels in Future Energy Systems: A 2050 Case Study

Lester, Mason Scott; Bramstoft, Rasmus; Münster, Marie

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2020.117408

Cited by 43 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Therefore, this work allocates them a zero-global warming potential (GWP) (i.e., gwp op = 0 kt CO 2 ,eq /GWh). In practice, there is always a residual CO 2 -impact that has to be compensated for (i.e., through biomass or direct air capture) [40]. However, the study of these actual CO 2 -compensation means is out of the scope of this work.…”

Section: Electrofuelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Electrofuels under Uncertainties for the Belgian Energy Transition

et al. 2021

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Wind and solar energies present a time and space disparity that generally leads to a mismatch between the demand and the supply. To harvest their maximum potentials, one of the main challenges is the storage and transport of these energies. This challenge can be tackled by electrofuels, such as hydrogen, methane, and methanol. They offer three main advantages: compatibility with existing distribution networks or technologies of conversion, economical storage solution for high capacity, and ability to couple sectors (i.e., electricity to transport, to heat, or to industry). However, the level of contribution of electric-energy carriers is unknown. To assess their role in the future, we used whole-energy system modelling (EnergyScope Typical Days) to study the case of Belgium in 2050. This model is multi-energy and multi-sector. It optimises the design of the overall system to minimise its costs and emissions. Such a model relies on many parameters (e.g., price of natural gas, efficiency of heat pump) to represent as closely as possible the future energy system. However, these parameters can be highly uncertain, especially for long-term planning. Consequently, this work uses the polynomial chaos expansion method to integrate a global sensitivity analysis in order to highlight the influence of the parameters on the total cost of the system. The outcome of this analysis points out that, compared to the deterministic cost-optimum situation, the system cost, accounting for uncertainties, becomes higher (+17%) and twice more uncertain at carbon neutrality and that electrofuels are a major contribution to the uncertainty (up to 53% in the variation of the costs) due to their importance in the energy system and their high uncertainties, their higher price, and uncertainty.

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Section: Electrofuelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Electrofuels under Uncertainties for the Belgian Energy Transition

et al. 2021

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“…This suggests that electrofuels could leverage a limited biomass supply to sustainably meet the energy demands of transportation. Recent literature supports this claim by showing that electrofuels are needed to achieve deep decarbonization goals of future energy systems, such as in 100% renewable energy uptake. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Environmental and Economic Performance of Hybrid Power-to-Liquid and Biomass-to-Liquid Fuel Production in the United States

Isaacs

Staples

Allroggen

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Power-to-liquids are a class of liquid drop-in fuels produced from electricity and carbon dioxide as the primary process inputs, which have the potential to reduce transportation’s climate impacts. We quantify the economic and life cycle environmental characteristics of four electrofuel technology pathways that rely on the Fischer–Tropsch synthesis but produce synthesis gas via different schemes: power-to-liquid (PtL) via electrolysis and a reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction; PtL via co-electrolysis; gasification of biomass-to-liquid (BtL); and a hybrid power- and biomass-to-liquid (PBtL) pathway. The results indicate that the hybrid PBtL pathway is the most environmentally and economically promising option for electrofuel production, with results highly dependent on input electricity source characteristics such as cost and emissions. The carbon intensities of electricity generation that must not be exceeded for electrofuels to have lower life cycle emissions than conventional diesel are 222, 116, and 143 gCO2e/kWh for PBtL, PtL electrolysis + RWGS, and PtL co-electrolysis, respectively. We characterize the PBtL pathway in more detail by combining spatially resolved data on biomass cultivation, electricity generation, and cost-optimized hydrogen production from renewable electricity in the United States (US). We find that the private emissions abatement cost for PBtL fuels varies between 740 and 2000 $/tCO2e, depending primarily on the location of fuel production.

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“…There are numerous research available on the techno-economic aspects of SC, such as the use of renewable electricity for heating (Arabzadeh et al, 2020;Bellocchi et al, 2020;Brown et al, 2018;Felten, 2020;Jimenez-Navarro et al, 2020;Richts et al, 2015;Schaber, 2013;Schaber et al, 2013;Schill & Zerrahn, 2020;Stadler & Sterner, 2018;Zhu et al, 2020). Others focus on the transport sector (Arabzadeh et al, 2020;Bellocchi et al, 2020;Brown et al, 2018;Lester et al, 2020;Sterchele et al, 2020) and even the commercial/trade/services sector (Brown et al, 2018;Jimenez-Navarro et al, 2020;Zhu et al, 2020).…”

Section: Available Research On Sector Couplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The sector coupling concept: A critical review

Ramsebner

Haas

Ajanović

et al. 2021

WIREs Energy & Environment

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Pursued climate goals require reduced greenhouse gas emissions by substituting fossil fuels with energy from renewable sources in all energy-consuming processes. On a large-scale, this can mainly be achieved through electricity from wind and sun, which are subject to intermittency. To efficiently integrate this variable energy, a coupling of the power sector to the residential, transport, industry, and commercial/trade sector is often promoted, called sector coupling (SC). Nevertheless, our literature review indicates that SC is frequently misinterpreted and its scope varies among available research, from exclusively considering the use of excess renewable electricity to a rather holistic view of integrated energy systems, including excess heat or even biomass sources. The core objective of this article is to provide a thorough understanding of the SC concept through an analysis of its origin and its main purpose, as described in the current literature. We provide a structured categorization of SC, derived from our findings, and critically discuss its remaining challenges as well as its value for renewable energy systems. We find that SC is rooted in the increasing use of variable renewable energy sources, and its main assets are the flexibility it provides for renewable energy systems, decarbonization potential for fossil-fuel-based end-consumption sectors, and consequently, reduced dependency on oil and gas extracting countries. However, the enabling technologies face great challenges in their economic feasibility because of the uncertain future development of competing solutions.

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Analysis on Electrofuels in Future Energy Systems: A 2050 Case Study

Cited by 43 publications

References 20 publications

The Role of Electrofuels under Uncertainties for the Belgian Energy Transition

The Role of Electrofuels under Uncertainties for the Belgian Energy Transition

Environmental and Economic Performance of Hybrid Power-to-Liquid and Biomass-to-Liquid Fuel Production in the United States

The sector coupling concept: A critical review

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