IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v174y2023ics1364032122010085.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Techno-economic competitiveness of renewable fuel alternatives in the marine sector

Author

Listed:
  • Mukherjee, Agneev
  • Bruijnincx, Pieter
  • Junginger, Martin

Abstract

The maritime sector accounts for almost 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is under increasing pressure to decarbonise rapidly. Renewable fuels represent a promising pathway for decarbonisation, but their high costs hinder adoption. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) can further augment marine fuel decarbonisation but adds to the cost. This work presents a harmonised cost comparison of four promising renewable carbon fuels (methanol, dimethyl ether (DME), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and bio-oil) produced either from routes utilising biomass (biofuels, including CCS) or CO2 (e-fuels). The differing technology status of the fuel production routes has been accounted for using the RAND Corporation method to estimate the cost of pioneer plants. Additionally, the impact of different levels of carbon taxation (15 or 140 €/t CO2) on the economic viability of the alternative fuels has been examined. None of the renewable fuels were found to be close to the incumbent fuels without carbon taxation, which needs to be considerable to adequately bridge the cost gap. Methanol and DME produced using point CO2 capture are the lowest cost choices if full scale sale of the oxygen by-product is considered. The biofuel routes remain at a premium to the existing fuels, while the direct air capture (DAC)-based fuels are the most expensive among the options studied, besides requiring completely renewable electricity for their carbon footprint to not exceed that of fossil fuels. Renewable LNG has a particularly high cost gap, bringing its status as a potential bridging fuel into doubt.

Suggested Citation

  • Mukherjee, Agneev & Bruijnincx, Pieter & Junginger, Martin, 2023. "Techno-economic competitiveness of renewable fuel alternatives in the marine sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:174:y:2023:i:c:s1364032122010085
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2022.113127
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032122010085
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2022.113127?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lotte Visser & Ric Hoefnagels & Martin Junginger, 2020. "The Potential Contribution of Imported Biomass to Renewable Energy Targets in the EU–the Trade-off between Ambitious Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets and Cost Thresholds," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-30, April.
    2. Bos, M.J. & Kersten, S.R.A. & Brilman, D.W.F., 2020. "Wind power to methanol: Renewable methanol production using electricity, electrolysis of water and CO2 air capture," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    3. Raimonds Aronietis & Christa Sys & Edwin van Hassel & Thierry Vanelslander, 2016. "Forecasting port-level demand for LNG as a ship fuel: the case of the port of Antwerp," Journal of Shipping and Trade, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-22, December.
    4. Barbera, Elena & Menegon, Silvia & Banzato, Donatella & D'Alpaos, Chiara & Bertucco, Alberto, 2019. "From biogas to biomethane: A process simulation-based techno-economic comparison of different upgrading technologies in the Italian context," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 663-673.
    5. Antar, Mohammed & Lyu, Dongmei & Nazari, Mahtab & Shah, Ateeq & Zhou, Xiaomin & Smith, Donald L., 2021. "Biomass for a sustainable bioeconomy: An overview of world biomass production and utilization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    6. Florian Egli & Bjarne Steffen & Tobias S. Schmidt, 2018. "A dynamic analysis of financing conditions for renewable energy technologies," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(12), pages 1084-1092, December.
    7. Perčić, Maja & Vladimir, Nikola & Fan, Ailong, 2021. "Techno-economic assessment of alternative marine fuels for inland shipping in Croatia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    8. Collet, Pierre & Flottes, Eglantine & Favre, Alain & Raynal, Ludovic & Pierre, Hélène & Capela, Sandra & Peregrina, Carlos, 2017. "Techno-economic and Life Cycle Assessment of methane production via biogas upgrading and power to gas technology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 282-295.
    9. Visser, L. & Hoefnagels, R. & Junginger, M., 2020. "Wood pellet supply chain costs – A review and cost optimization analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    10. van Leeuwen, Charlotte & Mulder, Machiel, 2018. "Power-to-gas in electricity markets dominated by renewables," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 258-272.
    11. Calbry-Muzyka, Adelaide & Madi, Hossein & Rüsch-Pfund, Florian & Gandiglio, Marta & Biollaz, Serge, 2022. "Biogas composition from agricultural sources and organic fraction of municipal solid waste," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 1000-1007.
    12. Pérez-Fortes, Mar & Schöneberger, Jan C. & Boulamanti, Aikaterini & Tzimas, Evangelos, 2016. "Methanol synthesis using captured CO2 as raw material: Techno-economic and environmental assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 718-732.
    13. Korberg, A.D. & Brynolf, S. & Grahn, M. & Skov, I.R., 2021. "Techno-economic assessment of advanced fuels and propulsion systems in future fossil-free ships," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    14. Al Arni, Saleh, 2018. "Comparison of slow and fast pyrolysis for converting biomass into fuel," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 197-201.
    15. Lozano, E.M. & Pedersen, T.H. & Rosendahl, L.A., 2020. "Integration of hydrothermal liquefaction and carbon capture and storage for the production of advanced liquid biofuels with negative CO2 emissions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    16. Tobias S. Schmidt & Bjarne Steffen & Florian Egli & Michael Pahle & Oliver Tietjen & Ottmar Edenhofer, 2019. "Adverse effects of rising interest rates on sustainable energy transitions," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(9), pages 879-885, September.
    17. Peter Viebahn & Alexander Scholz & Ole Zelt, 2019. "The Potential Role of Direct Air Capture in the German Energy Research Program—Results of a Multi-Dimensional Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-27, September.
    18. Dimitriadis, Athanasios & Bezergianni, Stella, 2017. "Hydrothermal liquefaction of various biomass and waste feedstocks for biocrude production: A state of the art review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P1), pages 113-125.
    19. Svanberg, Martin & Ellis, Joanne & Lundgren, Joakim & Landälv, Ingvar, 2018. "Renewable methanol as a fuel for the shipping industry," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1217-1228.
    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. Chountalas, Theofanis D. & Founti, Maria & Tsalavoutas, Ioannis, 2023. "Evaluation of biofuel effect on performance & emissions of a 2-stroke marine diesel engine using on-board measurements," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(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. Ahmed, Shoaib & Li, Tie & Yi, Ping & Chen, Run, 2023. "Environmental impact assessment of green ammonia-powered very large tanker ship for decarbonized future shipping operations," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    2. Campion, Nicolas & Nami, Hossein & Swisher, Philip R. & Vang Hendriksen, Peter & Münster, Marie, 2023. "Techno-economic assessment of green ammonia production with different wind and solar potentials," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    3. Yan, Xinping & He, Yapeng & Fan, Ailong, 2023. "Carbon footprint prediction considering the evolution of alternative fuels and cargo: A case study of Yangtze river ships," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    4. Polzin, Friedemann & Sanders, Mark & Serebriakova, Alexandra, 2021. "Finance in global transition scenarios: Mapping investments by technology into finance needs by source," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Mohammadpour, Hossein & Cord-Ruwisch, Ralf & Pivrikas, Almantas & Ho, Goen, 2022. "Simple energy-efficient electrochemically-driven CO2 scrubbing for biogas upgrading," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 274-282.
    6. Deleidi, Matteo & Mazzucato, Mariana & Semieniuk, Gregor, 2020. "Neither crowding in nor out: Public direct investment mobilising private investment into renewable electricity projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    7. Corey Duncan & Robin Roche & Samir Jemei & Marie-Cécile Péra, 2022. "Techno-economical modelling of a power-to-gas system for plant configuration evaluation in a local context," Post-Print hal-03692975, HAL.
    8. Ma, Qian & Chang, Yuan & Yuan, Bo & Song, Zhaozheng & Xue, Jinjun & Jiang, Qingzhe, 2022. "Utilizing carbon dioxide from refinery flue gas for methanol production: System design and assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    9. Hermesmann, M. & Grübel, K. & Scherotzki, L. & Müller, T.E., 2021. "Promising pathways: The geographic and energetic potential of power-to-x technologies based on regeneratively obtained hydrogen," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    10. Đukan, Mak & Kitzing, Lena, 2023. "A bigger bang for the buck: The impact of risk reduction on renewable energy support payments in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    11. Rocio Gonzalez Sanchez & Anatoli Chatzipanagi & Georgia Kakoulaki & Marco Buffi & Sandor Szabo, 2023. "The Role of Direct Air Capture in EU’s Decarbonisation and Associated Carbon Intensity for Synthetic Fuels Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-28, May.
    12. Wilhelm Kuckshinrichs, 2021. "LCOE: A Useful and Valid Indicator—Replica to James Loewen and Adam Szymanski," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-8, January.
    13. Harris, Kylee & Grim, R. Gary & Huang, Zhe & Tao, Ling, 2021. "A comparative techno-economic analysis of renewable methanol synthesis from biomass and CO2: Opportunities and barriers to commercialization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    14. Ardolino, F. & Cardamone, G.F. & Parrillo, F. & Arena, U., 2021. "Biogas-to-biomethane upgrading: A comparative review and assessment in a life cycle perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    15. Keith L. Kline & Virginia H. Dale & Erin Rose & Bruce Tonn, 2021. "Effects of Production of Woody Pellets in the Southeastern United States on the Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.
    16. Egli, Florian, 2020. "Renewable energy investment risk: An investigation of changes over time and the underlying drivers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    17. Yifan Wang & Laurence A. Wright, 2021. "A Comparative Review of Alternative Fuels for the Maritime Sector: Economic, Technology, and Policy Challenges for Clean Energy Implementation," World, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-26, October.
    18. Lombardi, Lidia & Francini, Giovanni, 2020. "Techno-economic and environmental assessment of the main biogas upgrading technologies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 440-458.
    19. Magdalena Klopott & Marzenna Popek & Ilona Urbanyi-Popiołek, 2023. "Seaports’ Role in Ensuring the Availability of Alternative Marine Fuels—A Multi-Faceted Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-30, March.
    20. McDonagh, Shane & Deane, Paul & Rajendran, Karthik & Murphy, Jerry D., 2019. "Are electrofuels a sustainable transport fuel? Analysis of the effect of controls on carbon, curtailment, and cost of hydrogen," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C), pages 716-730.

    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:eee:rensus:v:174:y:2023:i:c:s1364032122010085. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    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.