scholarly journals Power-to-Gas and Power-to-X—The History and Results of Developing a New Storage Concept

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (20) ◽  
pp. 6594
Author(s):  
Michael Sterner ◽  
Michael Specht
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Water Electrolysis ◽  
Process Engineering ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Energy Problem ◽  
Co2 Methanation ◽  
Synthetic Natural Gas ◽  
Initial Idea ◽  
Power To Gas

Germany’s energy transition, known as ‘Energiewende’, was always very progressive. However, it came technically to a halt at the question of large-scale, seasonal energy storage for wind and solar, which was not available. At the end of the 2000s, we combined our knowledge of both electrical and process engineering, imitated nature by copying photosynthesis and developed Power-to-Gas by combining water electrolysis with CO2-methanation to convert water and CO2 together with wind and solar power to synthetic natural gas. Storing green energy by coupling the electricity with the gas sector using its vast TWh-scale storage facility was the solution for the biggest energy problem of our time. This was the first concept that created the term ‘sector coupling’ or ‘sectoral integration’. We first implemented demo sites, presented our work in research, industry and ministries, and applied it in many macroeconomic studies. It was an initial idea that inspired others to rethink electricity as well as eFuels as an energy source and energy carrier. We developed the concept further to include Power-to-Liquid, Power-to-Chemicals and other ways to ‘convert’ electricity into molecules and climate-neutral feedstocks, and named it ‘Power-to-X’at the beginning of the 2010s.

scholarly journals Frequency Response Analysis of the Unsteady-State CO/CO2 Methanation Reaction: An Experimental Study

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominik Meyer ◽  
Jannik Schumacher ◽  
Jens Friedland ◽  
Robert Güttel
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Response ◽  
Water Electrolysis ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
Unsteady State ◽  
Transient Kinetics ◽  
Co2 Methanation ◽  
Methanation Reaction ◽  
Power To Gas ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Species Being

The utilization of renewable electricity for power-to-gas (PtG) applications induces fluctuations in the H2 availability from water electrolysis. For subsequent methanation of CO or CO2 the unsteady-state operation of the respective reactor allows to minimize H2 storage capacities. However, the impact of temporal fluctuations in feed gas composition on the methanation reaction and the respective transient kinetics has not yet been fully understood. We investigated the methanation of various CO/CO2 (COx) feed gas mixtures under periodically changing gas compositions with emphasis on the effect of the frequency on the reactor response. We show that the frequency response of CH4 exhibits a characteristic hysteresis, which depends on the switching direction between COx-lean and COx-rich feeds and their composition. From the shape of the hysteresis we are able to conclude on the preferred COx species being hydrogenated to CH4 under respective conditions, which also provides mechanistic insights. By applying high cycling frequencies, the highly reactive species present under CO methanation conditions can even selectively be activated, which explains the higher reactivity compared to steady-state conditions reported, frequently.

scholarly journals The role of gases in the European energy transition

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 390-405
Author(s):  
Jonathan Stern
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Carbon Capture And Storage ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Gas Market ◽  
Power To Gas ◽  
The Eu

The role of gases in the energy transition is a different, and much more immediate, issue in the EU, compared with other global regions. Net zero targets for 2050 mean that in order to retain the gas market and the extensive network infrastructure which has been developed, zero carbon gases will need to be developed, and natural gas (methane) will need to be decarbonized. Maximum availability of biomethane and hydrogen from power to gas is estimated at 100–150 billion cubic meters by 2050 (or around 25–30% of gas demand in the late 2010s. Therefore, large scale hydrogen production from reforming methane with carbon capture and storage (CCS), or pyrolysis, will be needed to maintain anything close to current demand levels. Costs of biomethane and hydrogen options are several times higher than prices of natural gas in 2019–2020. Significant financial support for decarbonization technologies — from governments and regulators — will therefore be needed in the 2020s, if they are to be available on a large scale in the 2030s and 2040s. If the EU gas community fails to advance convincing decarbonized narratives backed by investments which allow for commercialization of renewable gas and methane decarbonization technologies; and/or governments fail to create the necessary legal/fiscal and regulatory frameworks to support these technologies, then energy markets will progressively move away from gases and towards electrification.

scholarly journals The impact of Clean Spark Spread expectations on storage hydropower generation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Condemi ◽  
Loretta Mastroeni ◽  
Pierluigi Vellucci
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Production Capacity ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Electric Power System ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
Hydropower Generation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

AbstractStorage hydropower generation plays a crucial role in the electric power system and energy transition because it is the most widespread power generation with low greenhouse gas emissions and, moreover, it is relatively cheap to ramp up and down. As a result, it provides flexibility to the grid and helps mitigate the short-term production uncertainty that affects most green energy technologies. However, using water in reservoirs represents an opportunity cost, which is related to the evolution of plant production capacity and production profitability. As the latter is related to a wide range of types of variables, in order to incorporate it in a large-scale prediction model it is important to select the variables that impact most on storage hydropower generation. In this paper, we investigate the impact of the variables influencing the choices of price maker producers, and, in particular we study the impact of Clean Spark Spread expectations on storage hydroelectric generation. In this connection, using entropy and machine learning tools, we present a method for embedding this expectations in a model to predict storage hydropower generation, showing that, for some time horizon, expectations on CSS have a greater impact than expectations on power prices. It is shown that, if the right mix of power price and CSS expectations is considered, the prediction error of the model is drastically reduced. This implies that it is important to incorporate CSS expectations into the storage hydropower model.

The three paradoxes of the energy transition - Assessing sustainability of large-scale solar photovoltaic through multi-level and multi-scalar perspective in Rwanda

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 ◽  
pp. 125519
Author(s):  
Carole Brunet ◽  
Oumarou Savadogo ◽  
Pierre Baptiste ◽  
Michel A. Bouchard ◽  
Céline Cholez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Multi Level

scholarly journals Lighting System Modernization as a Source of Green Energy

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2771
Author(s):  
Leszek Kotulski ◽  
Artur Basiura ◽  
Igor Wojnicki ◽  
Sebastian Siuchta
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Light Sources ◽  
Levelized Cost Of Electricity ◽  
Cost Of Electricity ◽  
Lighting Retrofit

The use of formal methods and artificial intelligence has made it possible to automatically design outdoor lighting. Quick design for large cities, in a matter of hours instead of weeks, and analysis of various optimization criteria enables to save energy and tune profit stream from lighting retrofit. Since outdoor lighting is of a large scale, having luminaires on every street in urban areas, and since it needs to be retrofitted every 10 to 15 years, choosing proper parameters and light sources leads to significant energy savings. This paper presents the concept and calculations of Levelized Cost of Electricity for outdoor lighting retrofit. It is understood as cost of energy savings, it is in the range from 23.06 to 54.64 EUR/MWh, based on real-world cases. This makes street and road lighting modernization process the best green “energy source” if compared with the 2018 Fraunhofer Institute cost of electricity renewable energy technologies ranking. This indicates that investment in lighting retrofit is more economically and ecologically viable than investment in new renewable energy sources.

scholarly journals The Energy Transition in the Visegrad Group Countries

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2212
Author(s):  
Ewelina Kochanek
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Energy Transformation ◽  
Diagnostic Features ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Visegrad Group

The aim of the research is to analyse the energy transition in the Visegrad Group countries, because they depend on the production of energy from the burning of fossil fuels, and transition is a huge challenge for them. The diversity of the energy transformation in the V4 countries was examined by using two qualitative methods, including literature analysis and comparative analysis. The timeframe of the study was set for the period from 2020 to 2030, as these years are crucial for the implementation of the European Green Deal Programme. Four diagnostic features were taken into account in the analysis: the share of RES in final energy consumption, reduction of CO2 emissions in the non-Emissions Trading System (ETS) sector, date of withdrawal of coal from the economy, and energy efficiency. The analysis shows that the V4 countries have different approaches and levels of energy transformation in their economies. Poland is in the most difficult situation, being the most dependent on the production of electricity from coal, as well as having the largest number of employees in the coal and around coal sector. The other countries of the group can base their transformation on nuclear energy, as each of them has at least four such power units. The increased use of biomass for energy and heat production is the most important stimulus for Renewable Energy Sources (RES) growth in the analysed countries. The ambivalent attitude of the political elite to unconventional sources in the four analysed countries significantly hinders the development of certain forms of green energy. However, it has been observed that an increasing proportion of the population, especially those living in regions of the country where there is no fossil fuel mining industry, has a positive attitude towards energy transformation. The study is the first that shows the state of involvement in the process of systemic change of the Visegrad Group countries. The results can serve as a starting point for understanding the reticence of this group of European countries towards the transformation phenomenon, as well as contributing to further research on the implementation of closed-circuit economies in the Visegrad Group countries.

Comparative Exploration of Mini Vertical Axis Breeze-Driven Generator

2014 ◽  
Vol 670-671 ◽  
pp. 964-967
Author(s):  
Shu Hua Bai ◽  
Hai Dong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Wind Power ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Energy Crisis ◽  
Fossil Energy

Nowadays, energy crisis is becoming increasingly serious. Coal, petroleum, natural gas and other fossil energy tend to be exhausted due to the crazy exploration. In recent decades, several long lasting local wars broke out in large scale in Mideast and North Africa because of the fighting for the limited petroleum. The reusable green energy in our life like enormous wind power, solar power, etc is to become the essential energy. This article is to conduct a comparative exploration of mini wind turbine, with the purpose of finding a good way to effectively deal with the energy crisis.

scholarly journals Coopetitive Nature of Energy Communities—The Energy Transition Context

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 931
Author(s):  
Karolina Mucha-Kuś ◽  
Maciej Sołtysik ◽  
Krzysztof Zamasz ◽  
Katarzyna Szczepańska-Woszczyna
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Transformation ◽  
Pilot Projects ◽  
Economic Dimension ◽  
Self Sufficiency

The decentralization of the large-scale energy sector, its replacement with pro-ecological, dispersed production sources and building a citizen dimension of the energy sector are the directional objectives of the energy transformation in the European Union. Building energy self-sufficiency at a local level is possible, based on the so-called Energy Communities, which include energy clusters and energy cooperatives. Several dozen pilot projects for energy clusters have been implemented in Poland, while energy cooperatives, despite being legally sanctioned and potentially a simpler formula of operation, have not functioned in practice. This article presents the coopetitive nature of Energy Communities. The authors analysed the principles and benefits of creating Energy Communities from a regulatory and practical side. An important element of the analysis is to indicate the managerial, coopetitive nature of the strategies implemented within the Energy Communities. Their members, while operating in a competitive environment, simultaneously cooperate to achieve common benefits. On the basis of the actual data of recipients and producers, the results of simulations of benefits in the economic dimension will be presented, proving the thesis of the legitimacy of creating coopetitive structures of Energy Communities.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document