Rich in sun or wind? Here’s how your country can export renewablesGreene-methanolistheidealbasisforavarietyofalternativefuelsandchemicalcompoundsconcentratedinuniversale-Fuelhubs,accordingtoSiemensEnergyinnovationexpertIreneuszPyc.Theidea,knownforsometime,hasnowbecomeeconomicallyviablewithcostsforrenewablepowergenerationcontinuingtofallandnewclimatechangepolicies.



ByMarcEngelhardt

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AlthoughbasedoncomplexresearchthatwonGeorgeOlahaNobelPrizeinChemistryin1994,theideaforuniversale-Fuelhubsisfairlysimple.Producecarbon-neutralmethanol–or“green”methanol–inplacesthathavefavorablewindandsolarconditionsandunavoidablecarbondioxideemissions.Thenstorethegreenmethanolate-Fuelhubswhereit’seitherprocessedorshippedtomarket.



Universale-Fuelhubsbasedongreenmethanolcanleadtoimmediatelarge-scalecarbonreductionsandlong-termcarbonneutrality.ThisistheconvictionofIreneuszPyc,ManagerofTechnologyandInnovationatSiemensEnergy.Theengineer,whoholdsaPhDfromAachen’srenownedRWTHUniversity,believesthattheliquidsynthesizedfromhydrogenandcarbondioxideisperfectforcreatinge-Fuelhubsbecauseitopensitselfuptoarangeofalternativefuels.“Greenmethanol,”saysPyc,“canbecomeanewexportcommodity,comparabletooilandotherhydrocarbonstoday.”

Thebenefitsofgreenmethanol
Greenmethanolcanbeuseddirectlyasafuelfortheshippingindustryorconvertedintoanumberofothere-Fuels,includinge-Gasoline,e-Dieselande-Kerosene.Itcanalsobeusedinrefineriesandthechemicalindustry,whichmakesitthee-Fuelparexcellence,accordingtoPyc,andtheidealplatformtoservediverseindustrybranches.



Unlikewithgreenhydrogen,hubsbasedongreenmethanolwouldbenefitfromimportantsynergies.Forexample,existingtransportinfrastructuresuchasships,terminalsandpipelinescouldbeusedwithlittleornoalterations.Andthesameistrueforinfrastructuresuchasstoragefacilities,tanks,gasstationsandvehiclesfueled,partlyorcompletely,withmethanol.Greenmethanolcanalsobeblendedwithconventionalfossilfuelstocreateimmediatecarbonreductionsandhelpmonetizerenewableenergysourcesindevelopingeconomiesanywhereintheworld.

Power-to-Liquid:synthesisdynamicsthatmatchrenewables
e-methanolhubBuildingamethanoleconomy:Countriesrichinrenewableresourcescanproducegreenhydrogenusingwindorsolarpowerandconvertitintomethanolforexport.

e-methanolhubBuildingamethanoleconomy:Countriesrichinrenewableresourcescanproducegreenhydrogenusingwindorsolarpowerandconvertitintomethanolforexport.

e-methanolhubBuildingamethanoleconomy:Countriesrichinrenewableresourcescanproducegreenhydrogenusingwindorsolarpowerandconvertitintomethanolforexport.

e-methanolhubBuildingamethanoleconomy:Countriesrichinrenewableresourcescanproducegreenhydrogenusingwindorsolarpowerandconvertitintomethanolforexport.

e-methanolhubBuildingamethanoleconomy:Countriesrichinrenewableresourcescanproducegreenhydrogenusingwindorsolarpowerandconvertitintomethanolforexport.

Tocreategreenmethanol,hydrogenisproducedthroughelectrolysisfromrenewableenergysourcessuchaswindandsolarinacarbon-neutralprocess.Thecarbondioxideiscapturedfromplantbiomassorfromunavoidablesourcesofemissionslikecementproductionthatwouldotherwisebereleasedunusedintotheatmosphere.This“reuse”orrecyclingofcarbondioxidemoleculesresultsinanetsavingsofaround50percentofemissions.BothcomponentsarethentransformedintomethanolusingPower-to-Liquidprocessesbasedonawell-established,nearlyhundred-year-oldmethodofalcoholsynthesiscombinedwithanewandinnovativecatalysttechnology.



Alreadygreenmethanolcanbeproducedtodayforaround0.6eurosperliter,greengasoline(derivedfromthismethanol)forlessthan1.5eurosperliter.Withdecliningelectricitypricesandelectrolysiscosts,plusimprovedprocessesandtechnology,thepricewouldmatchthatof“black”hydrocarbon-basedfuelsatthegasstation–thatis,ife-Fuelsweren’talsotaxed.ThisiswhyPycwouldliketoseefurtherpoliticalregulationthatfavorscarbon-neutral,methanol-basedfuelsovertheirfossil-basedcounterparts.Equallyimportantisthedevelopmentofprojectsformajorplantsproducinggreenmethanol,whichwouldbetheheartofanye-Fuelhub.LessonscouldbelearnedfromafirstpilotplantinIcelandandanothercurrentlybeingconstructedbySiemensEnergyandpartnersinHassfurt,Germany.“It’simportanttoshowthatthesynthesisofmethanolcanbedoneinadynamicprocessthatmatchesthevolatilenatureofrenewableenergysources–andonabigscale,”saysPyc.Onlythencanuniversale-Fuelhubsbecomereality.

"Greenmethanolcanbecomeanewexportcommodity,comparabletooilandotherhydrocarbonstoday."
IreneuszPyc,ManagerTechnologyandInnovationatSiemensEnergy
Thebusinesscase:cost,shippingandregulation
AccordingtoPyc,thecaseforinvestmentandbusinessisstrong.Forone,energyandhydrogenfromrenewablesourceshaveneverbeenascheapastodayandtheneedtoswitchtogreenfuelsneverasurgent.Andwhereashydrogencouldbeusedinsomemarkets,indevelopingandemergingmarketswithoutaninfrastructurealreadyinplaceswitchingtohydrogenasafuelwillprobablybetoocostly,creatinganevenlargerdemandformoreversatilealternativefuelsbasedonmethanol.



Insomeindustrializednations,whilebattery-drivenvehiclesorhydrogen-poweredfuelcellsmightemergeasanalternativeformoftransportationoverthenextdecades,methanol-basede-Fuelscouldalreadybeusednowasabridge.Thedecarbonizationofplanes,shipsandheavytruckswillalsodependongreene-Fuels,requiringadequatefuelproductionandstations.Andthe100milliontonsofblackmethanolcurrentlyusedinindustryandrefineriescouldbegreenedonceuniversale-Fuelhubsareavailable.



Thetimetoactisnow.RegulationsliketheEuropeanUnion’sRenewableEnergyDirectiveII(REDII)ortheFuelQualityDirective(FQD),whichrequiresa6percentreductionofgreenhousegasintensityintransportfuelsby2020,cannotbemetbybioethanolaloneandcarrytheriskforpenaltiesofupto500eurospertonofcarbonequivalent.

Chemistand1994NobellaureateGeorgeOlahGeorgeOlah,the1994Nobellaureateforhisworkincarbocationchemistry,wasthefirsttoproposestoringhydrogenintheformofmethanol.
Chemistand1994NobellaureateGeorgeOlahGeorgeOlah,the1994Nobellaureateforhisworkincarbocationchemistry,wasthefirsttoproposestoringhydrogenintheformofmethanol.
Chemistand1994NobellaureateGeorgeOlahGeorgeOlah,the1994Nobellaureateforhisworkincarbocationchemistry,wasthefirsttoproposestoringhydrogenintheformofmethanol.
Chemistand1994NobellaureateGeorgeOlahGeorgeOlah,the1994Nobellaureateforhisworkincarbocationchemistry,wasthefirsttoproposestoringhydrogenintheformofmethanol.
Chemistand1994NobellaureateGeorgeOlahGeorgeOlah,the1994Nobellaureateforhisworkincarbocationchemistry,wasthefirsttoproposestoringhydrogenintheformofmethanol.
Buildinga“methanoleconomy”
Inthe1990stheNobellaureatechemistGeorgeOlahcoinedtheterm“methanoleconomy,”butonlytoday,saysPyc,issuchaneconomybotheconomicallyvalidandenvironmentallyfriendly.WhileOlahhadwantedtoreplacehydrocarbonswithsyntheticalcohol,reducingemissionswasn’ttheprimarygoal.Today,however,thereisareal,uniquechancetoreplacefossilfuels–blackhydrocarbons–withgreensyntheticalcoholanditsderivatives.“What’sneedednowisamajorinvestmentof1to2billiondollarstobuildthefirste-Fuelhubandshowtheideacanbescaled.”Pycisn’ttheonlyonewhoseesthehugepotentialine-Fuelsbasedongreenmethanol:TheGermanEnergyAgency(dena)expectscoststocontinuesinkingforPower-to-Xtechnologyandmethanolproductioninparticular,andtheWorldEnergyCouncil(WEC)hasidentifiedthebestlocationsandpartnersforprojectdevelopment.



Criticsmightpointtothelowefficiencyofe-Fuelscomparedtoelectriccars,butPycdoesn’tsharetheirview.“Intheend,costisthecriticalfactor:Thereareregionsintheworldwithmorethanenoughspaceforrenewableenergysources,andifwecanusethesespacestobuildhubsthatcanfueltheworld,thecostofmethanol-basede-Fuelswillbelownomattertheefficiency.”

July1,2020

MarcEngelhardtreportsfromGenevaontheUnitedNations,internationalorganizationsandglobaldevelopmentsineconomics,science,politicsandenergy.Hisworkhasappearedinanumberofmediaoutlets,includingtheNeueZüricherZeitung,ARDandDieZeit.



Combinedpicturecredits:Gettyimages,JensAmende,SiemensEnergy