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Economic comparison of different electric fuels for energy scenarios in 2035

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  • Runge, Philipp
  • Sölch, Christian
  • Albert, Jakob
  • Wasserscheid, Peter
  • Zöttl, Gregor
  • Grimm, Veronika

Abstract

Electric fuels (e-fuels) enable CO2-neutral mobility and are therefore an alternative to battery-powered electric vehicles. This paper compares the cost-effectiveness of Fischer-Tropsch diesel, methanol and Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers. The production costs of those fuels are to a large part driven by the energy-intensive electrolytic hydrogen production. In this paper, we apply a multi-level electricity market model to calculate future hourly electricity prices for various electricity market designs in Germany for the year 2035. We then assess the economic efficiency of the different fuels under various future market conditions. In particular, we use the electricity price vectors derived from an electricity market model calibrated for 2035 as an input for a mathematical model of the entire process chain from hydrogen production and chemical bonding to the energetic utilization of the fuels in a vehicle. Within this model, we perform a sensitivity analysis, which quantifies the impact of various parameters on the fuel production cost. Most importantly, we consider prices resulting from own model calculations for different energy market designs, the investment cost for the electrolysis systems and the carbon dioxide purchase price. The results suggest that the use of hydrogen, which is temporarily bound to Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers, is a favorable alternative to the more widely discussed synthetic diesel and methanol.

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  • Runge, Philipp & Sölch, Christian & Albert, Jakob & Wasserscheid, Peter & Zöttl, Gregor & Grimm, Veronika, 2019. "Economic comparison of different electric fuels for energy scenarios in 2035," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 1078-1093.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:233-234:y:2019:i::p:1078-1093
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.10.023
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    4. Frederik vom Scheidt & Jingyi Qu & Philipp Staudt & Dharik S. Mallapragada & Christof Weinhardt, 2021. "Integrating Hydrogen in Single-Price Electricity Systems: The Effects of Spatial Economic Signals," Papers 2105.00130, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2021.
    5. Jin, Shaoye & Deng, Jun & Xie, Kaien & Liang, Xinghu & Wang, Chenxu & Ding, Weiqi & Li, Liguang, 2023. "Knock control in hydrogen-fueled argon power cycle engine with higher compression ratio by water port injection," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    6. vom Scheidt, Frederik & Qu, Jingyi & Staudt, Philipp & Mallapragada, Dharik S. & Weinhardt, Christof, 2022. "Integrating hydrogen in single-price electricity systems: The effects of spatial economic signals," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
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    10. Kirchem, Dana & Schill, Wolf-Peter, 2023. "Power sector effects of green hydrogen production in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    11. Grimm, Veronika & Rückel, Bastian & Sölch, Christian & Zöttl, Gregor, 2021. "The impact of market design on transmission and generation investment in electricity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    12. Christoph M. Schmidt & Andreas Löschel & Karen Pittel & Christoph Bals & Audrey Mathieu & Sonja Peterson & Wilfried Rickels & Stefanie Berendsen & Ingmar Jürgens & Veronika Grimm & Sabine Schlacke & H, 2020. "European Green Deal – Bottlenecks until 2030," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 73(06), pages 03-37, June.
    13. Zhao, Yongliang & Liu, Ming & Wang, Chaoyang & Wang, Zhu & Chong, Daotong & Yan, Junjie, 2019. "Exergy analysis of the regulating measures of operational flexibility in supercritical coal-fired power plants during transient processes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    14. Marco Sebastian Breder & Felix Meurer & Michael Bucksteeg & Christoph Weber, 2022. "Spatial Incentives for Power-to-hydrogen through Market Splitting," EWL Working Papers 2203, University of Duisburg-Essen, Chair for Management Science and Energy Economics, revised Jul 2022.
    15. Egerer, Jonas & Grimm, Veronika & Niazmand, Kiana & Runge, Philipp, 2023. "The economics of global green ammonia trade – “Shipping Australian wind and sunshine to Germany”," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    16. Pastor, Jose V. & García-Oliver, Jose M. & Micó, Carlos & Tejada, Francisco J., 2023. "Characterization of the oxymethylene ether fuels flame structure for ECN Spray A and Spray D nozzles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 332(C).
    17. Lux, Benjamin & Pfluger, Benjamin, 2020. "A supply curve of electricity-based hydrogen in a decarbonized European energy system in 2050," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    18. Stöckl, Fabian & Schill, Wolf-Peter & Zerrahn, Alexander, 2021. "Optimal supply chains and power sector benefits of green hydrogen," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11.
    19. Lee, Sanghun & Kim, Taehong & Han, Gwangwoo & Kang, Sungmin & Yoo, Young-Sung & Jeon, Sang-Yun & Bae, Joongmyeon, 2021. "Comparative energetic studies on liquid organic hydrogen carrier: A net energy analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    20. Pastor, José V. & García, Antonio & Micó, Carlos & Lewiski, Felipe & Vassallo, Alberto & Pesce, Francesco Concetto, 2021. "Effect of a novel piston geometry on the combustion process of a light-duty compression ignition engine: An optical analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    21. Brigljević, Boris & Byun, Manhee & Lim, Hankwon, 2020. "Design, economic evaluation, and market uncertainty analysis of LOHC-based, CO2 free, hydrogen delivery systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    22. Chen, Qianqian & Gu, Yu & Tang, Zhiyong & Wang, Danfeng & Wu, Qing, 2021. "Optimal design and techno-economic assessment of low-carbon hydrogen supply pathways for a refueling station located in Shanghai," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    23. García, Antonio & Monsalve-Serrano, Javier & Lago Sari, Rafael & Tripathi, Shashwat, 2022. "Pathways to achieve future CO2 emission reduction targets for bus transit networks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(PB).
    24. Omari, Ahmad & Heuser, Benedikt & Pischinger, Stefan & Rüdinger, Christoph, 2019. "Potential of long-chain oxymethylene ether and oxymethylene ether-diesel blends for ultra-low emission engines," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 1242-1249.

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