Integrating System and Operator Perspectives for the Evaluation of Power-to-Gas Plants in the Future German Energy System

Abstract

In which way, and in which sectors, will renewable energy be integrated in the German Energy System by 2030, 2040, and 2050? How can the resulting energy system be characterised following a −95% greenhouse gas emission reduction scenario? Which role will hydrogen play? To address these research questions, techno-economic energy system modelling was performed. Evaluation of the resulting operation of energy technologies was carried out from a system and a business point of view. Special consideration of gas technologies, such as hydrogen production, transport, and storage, was taken as a large-scale and long-term energy storage option and key enabler for the decarbonisation of the non-electric sectors. The broad set of results gives insight into the entangled interactions of the future energy technology portfolio and its operation within a coupled energy system. Amongst other energy demands, CO2 emissions, hydrogen production, and future power plant capacities are presented. One main conclusion is that integrating the first elements of a large-scale hydrogen infrastructure into the German energy system, already, by 2030 is necessary for ensuring the supply of upscaling demands across all sectors. Within the regulatory regime of 2020, it seems that this decision may come too late, which jeopardises the achievement of transition targets within the horizon 2050.

Green hydrogen economy: Prospects and policies in Vietnam

“…Moreover, in the future, the ever-increasing demand for electrolyzers and the advancement in technologies could lead to the substantial decrease in green H 2 production prices [63]. Notably, electrolyzer capital expenses for a major utility-scale system were predicted to decrease by 40%e 60% by 2030 [64,65]; nonetheless, the major problem was market conditions, which required operators to use plants for over 2000 h per year to achieve a revenue greater than the entire cost [66,67]. The sources of energy determined the capacity employment parameters for electrolyzers.…”

Progress in Power-to-Gas Energy Systems

“…Three articles were published from the field of energy system analysis. In [7], a detailed case study of a region in Finland is modeled, while in [8], the German energy system was modeled and assessed from system and operator points of view. Gas and electricity energy networks were modeled in [9] with a focus on co-simulation and hydrogen/natural gas blends.…”

“…In their energy system analysis, Schaffert et al [8] study in what way, and in which sectors, renewable energy will be integrated in the German Energy System by 2030, 2040, and 2050 and what role hydrogen and methane from power-to-gas processes will play in this integration.…”

“…One main conclusion is that integrating the first elements of a large-scale hydrogen infrastructure into the German energy system by 2030 is necessary for ensuring the supply of upscaling demands across all sectors. Within the regulatory regime of 2020, authors suggest that investment decisions for large scale hydrogen infrastructures may come too late and might jeopardize the chances of achieving transition targets within the 2050 horizon [8].…”

“…One of them modeled a region in Finland [7] as a case study for large-scale industrial energy applications. A second paper modeled the future German Energy System and assessed the results from techno-economic as well as operator perspective [8]. The third contribution focused on the technical modeling of power and gas networks including the option of hydrogen/natural gas blends [9].…”