Storing the energy generated by strong winds or the bright sun by turning it into liquid fuel like methanol can help ensure that green energy is not wasted, without having to rely on batteries.
Methanol can be made from CO2 captured from industrial sources , combined with hydrogen extracted from water using surplus renewable energy. And the resulting fuel can be used in cars or boats, reducing the use of fossil fuels as well as greenhouse gas emissions .
“We are transforming renewable energy into a liquid fuel that can be used in standard internal combustion engines,” said David Cuesta, of the Spanish energy consultancy i-deals. “In the end you are taking a standard vehicle and, in some way, you’re “electrifying” it, he added.
Cuesta coordinated the MefCO2 project, which showed how industry can play a role in conserving renewable energy as it is produced and helping to absorb some of the fluctuations inherent in sustainable energy production.
The project used carbon capture technology at a coal-fired power plant in Germany to demonstrate the process, storing some of the emissions as methanol.
Replicating the process to scale could also help reduce imports of EU methanol, which is easily stored and transported but is currently produced from fossil raw materials. In addition to its use as a fuel, methanol is a widely used raw material in the chemical industry.
Electrification
Hydrogen produced from renewable sources has long been recognized as a clean fuel , but taking the additional step of producing methanol provides a product with higher energy density, without the technical demands of high pressure storage and transportation, or the need to provide a new infrastructure for the use of retail consumers.
An obstacle to using renewable energy to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water was the demand of some electrolysis systems for constant supplies of energy . But the use of innovations like polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) technology allows flexibility to adjust to natural fluctuations in conditions.
MefCO2 also paved the way for renewable energy to be harnessed by other carbon-emitting industries such as steel, where i-deals is coordinating the FReSMe project to produce methanol as fuel for ocean ferries. Large-scale battery-powered engines may not be viable for these vessels, but methanol can easily be harnessed.
Renewable
By meeting various standards, such as reducing the CO2 footprint, methanol can be considered a renewable fuel , which can earn a premium from companies working to reduce their carbon emissions.
That additional income for the producer can cover the cost of the infrastructure and provide an additional economic incentive.
“We are helping certain industries to decarbonize and they may even benefit from this so that decarbonization is not such a big burden ,” Cuesta said.
Coordination between industry players to provide raw materials for renewable energy, as well as careful management of production and storage, can help smooth fluctuations in green power supply and demand, stabilizing the grid and making make carbon capture and use more economically viable.
This type of coordination is an essential element of industrial symbiosis , in which different industries share resources, data and materials to make the entire ecosystem more sustainable.
Working in this way could help industry play a bigger role in the production and use of renewable energy. Such coordination could ensure that waste products or by-products from one process – such as CO2 – can be used as feedstock for another, as in the MefCO2 project.
“If I am a company and I act alone, I tend to satisfy what I think is best for me,” said Andrea Ballarino, from the Italian Institute of Intelligent Industrial Technologies and Systems for Advanced Manufacturing (STIIMA-CNR). “But if I can combine my action with that of other companies, I can achieve a symbiosis and I can achieve a global optimum – as well as my own optimum,” he added.
To collaborate
Ballarino coordinated the SYMBIOPTIMA project, which demonstrated that a company could adapt a by-product to meet the needs of another user, turning it into extra income and reducing costs for the buyer , who could avoid buying some primary raw material.
By taking that approach, industry is coming together to play a critical role in reducing waste of all kinds . SYMBIOPTIMA also focused on saving on energy use at the individual factory level, while the collective demand for grid energy, including renewables, was smoothed out and could be planned with greater precision.
SYMBIOPTIMA used close monitoring of industrial processes and cooperation between companies to demonstrate that they could make energy cost savings of the order of 10-15% .
By constructing and adjusting a detailed profile of the energy demand in a factory, the software tools were able to both consciously govern its energy production and calculate its expected energy purchases. These could then be added to the profile of another factory and a software system that would preserve their anonymity would link their purchases, matching the demand peaks of one with a decrease in energy of the other.
By staggering industrial processes, the software ensured that factories did not have to pay maximum prices by demanding maximum power at the same time. The result was to reduce costs for both factories, as well as help the grid manager balance demand, and plan what standby power may be needed to support renewable inputs.
Attractive
In addition to energy planning, industries could adjust the characteristics of their by-products and time their availability to make them more attractive to other industrial users. “At the end of the day and at the end of the month it provides an economic advantage, money in your pocket,” said Ballarino.
One of the objectives of SYMBIOPTIMA was to discover economic opportunities in the value chains of companies and even industries that may not have obvious links and where the players are clearly not competitors.
These included a four-way collaboration between a foundry, a cement factory, a paper mill and a brick maker. Symby-Net software developed during the project showed how slag and waste sand from a foundry could be used by a cement factory and a brick factory. And the brick factory could also reuse leftover papermaking sludge, reducing its need for raw clay.
Ballarino noted that incentives to cooperate range from financial benefits to ensuring the long-term security of scarce resources or compliance with regulations , such as those promoting environmental sustainability or renewable energy production. “We have a number of companies for which resources are scarce, energy efficiency is a problem and sustainability is a necessity,” said Ballarino. “And the only way to achieve all these goals is to collaborate, so we need the tools to collaborate, “he added.
Artículo original.
This article was originally published in Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine
