Methanol as a renewable energy carrier: An assessment of production and transportation costs for selected global locations
The importing of renewable energy will be one part of the process of defossilizing the energy systems of countries and regions, which are currently heavily dependent on the import of fossil-based energy carriers. This study investigates the possibility of importing renewable methanol comprised of hy...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Advances in Applied Energy |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666792421000421 |
| _version_ | 1818910358923902976 |
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| author | Felix Schorn Janos L. Breuer Remzi Can Samsun Thorsten Schnorbus Benedikt Heuser Ralf Peters Detlef Stolten |
| author_facet | Felix Schorn Janos L. Breuer Remzi Can Samsun Thorsten Schnorbus Benedikt Heuser Ralf Peters Detlef Stolten |
| author_sort | Felix Schorn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The importing of renewable energy will be one part of the process of defossilizing the energy systems of countries and regions, which are currently heavily dependent on the import of fossil-based energy carriers. This study investigates the possibility of importing renewable methanol comprised of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Based on a methanol synthesis simulation model, the net production costs of methanol are derived as a function of hydrogen and carbon dioxide expenses. These findings enable a comparison of the import costs of methanol and hydrogen. For this, the hydrogen production and distribution costs for 2030 as reported in a recent study for four different origin/destination country combinations are considered. With the predicted hydrogen production costs of 1.35–2 €/kg and additional shipping costs, methanol can be imported for 370–600 €/t if renewable or process-related carbon dioxide is available at costs of 100 €/t or below in the hydrogen-producing country. Compared to the current fossil market price of approximately 400 €/t, renewable methanol could therefore become cost-competitive. Within the range of carbon dioxide prices of 30–100 €/t, both hydrogen and methanol exhibit comparable energy-specific import costs of 18–30 €/GJ. Hence, the additional costs for upgrading hydrogen to methanol are balanced out by the lower shipping costs of methanol compared to hydrogen. Lastly, a comparison for producing methanol in the hydrogen's origin or destination country indicates that carbon dioxide in the destination country must be 181–228 €/t less expensive than that in the origin country, to balance out the more expensive shipping costs for hydrogen. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T22:41:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4c9da2eaa3d845779cac9877dcd893e7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2666-7924 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T22:41:33Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advances in Applied Energy |
| spelling | doaj.art-4c9da2eaa3d845779cac9877dcd893e72022-12-21T20:03:03ZengElsevierAdvances in Applied Energy2666-79242021-08-013100050Methanol as a renewable energy carrier: An assessment of production and transportation costs for selected global locationsFelix Schorn0Janos L. Breuer1Remzi Can Samsun2Thorsten Schnorbus3Benedikt Heuser4Ralf Peters5Detlef Stolten6Institute of Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK-14), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany; Chair for Fuel Cells, RWTH Aachen University, 52072, Aachen, Germany; Corresponding author.Institute of Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK-14), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany; Chair for Fuel Cells, RWTH Aachen University, 52072, Aachen, GermanyInstitute of Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK-14), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, GermanyFEV Europe GmbH, 52078, Aachen, GermanyFEV Europe GmbH, 52078, Aachen, GermanyInstitute of Electrochemical Process Engineering (IEK-14), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, GermanyChair for Fuel Cells, RWTH Aachen University, 52072, Aachen, Germany; Institute of Techno-Economic Systems Analysis (IEK-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, GermanyThe importing of renewable energy will be one part of the process of defossilizing the energy systems of countries and regions, which are currently heavily dependent on the import of fossil-based energy carriers. This study investigates the possibility of importing renewable methanol comprised of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Based on a methanol synthesis simulation model, the net production costs of methanol are derived as a function of hydrogen and carbon dioxide expenses. These findings enable a comparison of the import costs of methanol and hydrogen. For this, the hydrogen production and distribution costs for 2030 as reported in a recent study for four different origin/destination country combinations are considered. With the predicted hydrogen production costs of 1.35–2 €/kg and additional shipping costs, methanol can be imported for 370–600 €/t if renewable or process-related carbon dioxide is available at costs of 100 €/t or below in the hydrogen-producing country. Compared to the current fossil market price of approximately 400 €/t, renewable methanol could therefore become cost-competitive. Within the range of carbon dioxide prices of 30–100 €/t, both hydrogen and methanol exhibit comparable energy-specific import costs of 18–30 €/GJ. Hence, the additional costs for upgrading hydrogen to methanol are balanced out by the lower shipping costs of methanol compared to hydrogen. Lastly, a comparison for producing methanol in the hydrogen's origin or destination country indicates that carbon dioxide in the destination country must be 181–228 €/t less expensive than that in the origin country, to balance out the more expensive shipping costs for hydrogen.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666792421000421Power-to-fuelRenewable methanolTechno-economic assessment |
| spellingShingle | Felix Schorn Janos L. Breuer Remzi Can Samsun Thorsten Schnorbus Benedikt Heuser Ralf Peters Detlef Stolten Methanol as a renewable energy carrier: An assessment of production and transportation costs for selected global locations Advances in Applied Energy Power-to-fuel Renewable methanol Techno-economic assessment |
| title | Methanol as a renewable energy carrier: An assessment of production and transportation costs for selected global locations |
| title_full | Methanol as a renewable energy carrier: An assessment of production and transportation costs for selected global locations |
| title_fullStr | Methanol as a renewable energy carrier: An assessment of production and transportation costs for selected global locations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Methanol as a renewable energy carrier: An assessment of production and transportation costs for selected global locations |
| title_short | Methanol as a renewable energy carrier: An assessment of production and transportation costs for selected global locations |
| title_sort | methanol as a renewable energy carrier an assessment of production and transportation costs for selected global locations |
| topic | Power-to-fuel Renewable methanol Techno-economic assessment |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666792421000421 |
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