IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i7p2507-d782381.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental and Economic Performance of CO 2 -Based Methanol Production Using Long-Distance Transport for H 2 in Combination with CO 2 Point Sources: A Case Study for Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Simon Kaiser

    (Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, 34117 Kassel, Germany)

  • Felix Siems

    (Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, 34117 Kassel, Germany)

  • Clemens Mostert

    (Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, 34117 Kassel, Germany)

  • Stefan Bringezu

    (Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, 34117 Kassel, Germany)

Abstract

The use of CO 2 -based hydrocarbons plays a crucial role in reducing the climate footprint for several industry sectors, such as the chemical industry. Recent studies showed that regions which are favorable for the production of CO 2 -based hydrocarbons from an energy perspective often do not provide concentrated point sources for CO 2 , which leads to an increased environmental impact due to the higher energy demand of direct air capture processes. Thus, producing H 2 in regions with high renewable power potential and transporting it to industrialized regions with concentrated CO 2 point sources could provide favorable options for the whole process chain. The aim of this study is to analyze and compare pathways to produce CO 2 -based methanol in Germany using a local CO 2 point source in combination with the import of H 2 per pipeline or per ship as well as H 2 produced in Germany. The environmental and economic performance of the pathways are assessed using life cycle assessment and cost analysis. As environmental indicators, the climate, material, water, and land footprints were calculated. The pathway that uses H 2 produced with electricity from offshore wind parks in Germany shows the least environmental impacts, whereas the import via pipeline shows the best results among the importing pathways. The production costs are the lowest for import via pipeline now and in the near future. Import via ship is only cost-efficient in the status quo if waste heat sources are available, but it could be more competitive in the future if more energy and cost-efficient options for regional H 2 distribution are available. It is shown that the climate mitigation effect is more cost-effective if the H 2 is produced domestically or imported via pipeline. Compared to the import of CO 2 -based methanol, the analyzed H 2 import pathways show a comparable (pipeline) or worse environmental and economic performance (ship).

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Kaiser & Felix Siems & Clemens Mostert & Stefan Bringezu, 2022. "Environmental and Economic Performance of CO 2 -Based Methanol Production Using Long-Distance Transport for H 2 in Combination with CO 2 Point Sources: A Case Study for Germany," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-22, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:7:p:2507-:d:782381
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/7/2507/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/7/2507/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stefan Bringezu & Martin Distelkamp & Christian Lutz & Florian Wimmer & Rüdiger Schaldach & Klaus Josef Hennenberg & Hannes Böttcher & Vincent Egenolf, 2021. "Environmental and socioeconomic footprints of the German bioeconomy," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 4(9), pages 775-783, September.
    2. Steffen, Bjarne, 2020. "Estimating the cost of capital for renewable energy projects," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Chris Bataille & Henri Waisman & Michel Colombier & Laura Segafredo & Jim Williams & Frank Jotzo, 2016. "The need for national deep decarbonization pathways for effective climate policy," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(sup1), pages 7-26, June.
    4. Reuß, M. & Grube, T. & Robinius, M. & Preuster, P. & Wasserscheid, P. & Stolten, D., 2017. "Seasonal storage and alternative carriers: A flexible hydrogen supply chain model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 290-302.
    5. Adland, Roar & Cariou, Pierre & Wolff, Francois-Charles, 2020. "Optimal ship speed and the cubic law revisited: Empirical evidence from an oil tanker fleet," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    6. Aasadnia, Majid & Mehrpooya, Mehdi, 2018. "Large-scale liquid hydrogen production methods and approaches: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 57-83.
    7. Michael Bampaou & Kyriakos Panopoulos & Panos Seferlis & Spyridon Voutetakis & Ismael Matino & Alice Petrucciani & Antonella Zaccara & Valentina Colla & Stefano Dettori & Teresa Annunziata Branca & Vi, 2021. "Integration of Renewable Hydrogen Production in Steelworks Off-Gases for the Synthesis of Methanol and Methane," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-24, May.
    8. Gustav Engström & Johan Gars & Chandra Krishnamurthy & Daniel Spiro & Raphael Calel & Therese Lindahl & Badri Narayanan, 2020. "Carbon pricing and planetary boundaries," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tsiklios, C. & Hermesmann, M. & Müller, T.E., 2022. "Hydrogen transport in large-scale transmission pipeline networks: Thermodynamic and environmental assessment of repurposed and new pipeline configurations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Olfa Tlili & Christine Mansilla & Jochen Linβen & Markus Reuss & Thomas Grube & Martin Robinius & Jean André & Yannick Perez & Alain Le Duigou & Detlef Stolten, 2020. "Geospatial modelling of the hydrogen infrastructure in France in order to identify the most suited supply chains," Post-Print hal-02421359, HAL.
    2. Reuß, Markus & Grube, Thomas & Robinius, Martin & Stolten, Detlef, 2019. "A hydrogen supply chain with spatial resolution: Comparative analysis of infrastructure technologies in Germany," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 438-453.
    3. Markus Reuß & Paris Dimos & Aline Léon & Thomas Grube & Martin Robinius & Detlef Stolten, 2021. "Hydrogen Road Transport Analysis in the Energy System: A Case Study for Germany through 2050," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Grüger, Fabian & Dylewski, Lucy & Robinius, Martin & Stolten, Detlef, 2018. "Carsharing with fuel cell vehicles: Sizing hydrogen refueling stations based on refueling behavior," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1540-1549.
    5. Luo, Yu & Liao, Shuting & Chen, Shuai & Fang, Huihuang & Zhong, Fulan & Lin, Li & Zhou, Chen & Chen, Chongqi & Cai, Guohui & Au, Chak-Tong & Jiang, Lilong, 2022. "Optimized coupling of ammonia decomposition and electrochemical oxidation in a tubular direct ammonia solid oxide fuel cell for high-efficiency power generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    6. Fankhauser, Samuel & Jotzo, Frank, 2017. "Economic growth and development with low-carbon energy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86850, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Li, Yanfei & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2022. "The economic feasibility of green hydrogen and fuel cell electric vehicles for road transport in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    8. Zhuang, Rui & Wang, Xiaonan & Guo, Miao & Zhao, Yingru & El-Farra, Nael H. & Palazoglu, Ahmet, 2020. "Waste-to-hydrogen: Recycling HCl to produce H2 and Cl2," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    9. Steven Jackson & Eivind Brodal, 2021. "Optimization of a Mixed Refrigerant Based H 2 Liquefaction Pre-Cooling Process and Estimate of Liquefaction Performance with Varying Ambient Temperature," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-18, September.
    10. d'Amore-Domenech, Rafael & Leo, Teresa J. & Pollet, Bruno G., 2021. "Bulk power transmission at sea: Life cycle cost comparison of electricity and hydrogen as energy vectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    11. Kolb, Sebastian & Plankenbühler, Thomas & Frank, Jonas & Dettelbacher, Johannes & Ludwig, Ralf & Karl, Jürgen & Dillig, Marius, 2021. "Scenarios for the integration of renewable gases into the German natural gas market – A simulation-based optimisation approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    12. Liu, Xiaotong & Zhang, Zhe & Cao, Chang & Wang, Jingda, 2024. "Carbon emissions and network spillover effects along the supply chain—Evidence from China," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    13. Jiwon Yu & Young Jae Han & Hyewon Yang & Sugil Lee & Gildong Kim & Chulung Lee, 2022. "Promising Technology Analysis and Patent Roadmap Development in the Hydrogen Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, October.
    14. Gumber, Anurag & Zana, Riccardo & Steffen, Bjarne, 2024. "A global analysis of renewable energy project commissioning timelines," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    15. Muhsin Kılıç & Ayse Fidan Altun, 2023. "Comprehensive Thermodynamic Performance Evaluation of Various Gas Liquefaction Cycles for Cryogenic Energy Storage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-25, December.
    16. Sharma, Rajesh & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Sinha, Avik & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2021. "Examining the temporal impact of stock market development on carbon intensity: Evidence from South Asian countries," MPRA Paper 108925, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2021.
    17. Audoly, Richard & Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Guivarch, Céline & Pfeiffer, Alexander, 2018. "Pathways toward zero-carbon electricity required for climate stabilization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 884-901.
    18. Luiz Moreira Coelho Junior & Amadeu Junior da Silva Fonseca & Roberto Castro & João Carlos de Oliveira Mello & Victor Hugo Ribeiro dos Santos & Renato Barros Pinheiro & Wilton Lima Sousa & Edvaldo Per, 2022. "Empirical Evidence of the Cost of Capital under Risk Conditions for Thermoelectric Power Plants in Brazil," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-12, June.
    19. Ang, B.W. & Goh, Tian, 2019. "Index decomposition analysis for comparing emission scenarios: Applications and challenges," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 74-87.
    20. Abdulrahman Joubi & Yutaro Akimoto & Keiichi Okajima, 2022. "A Production and Delivery Model of Hydrogen from Solar Thermal Energy in the United Arab Emirates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-14, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:7:p:2507-:d:782381. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.