Dynamisation of Life Cycle Assessment Through the Integration of Energy System Modelling to Assess Alternative Fuels

Pichlmaier, Simon; Regett, Anika; Kigle, Stephan

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-12266-9_6

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…On the one hand, sources like those published by Boehm et al or Chatenet et al [43,47,65] do not see such large differences of CapEx values between AEC and PEMEC systems for the year 2022. On the other hand, regarding the operation phase, within other publications [51,52,66,67] there is a tendency for lower electricity demand values for AEC (48-52 kWh/kgH 2 ) compared to PEMEC. Thus, the overall LCOH results based on the assumptions of this study are in a realistic range and without preference for one technology option.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Water electrolysis technologies in the future – projection of environmental impacts and levelized costs until 2045

Koj,

Zapp,

Wieland

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background To limit climate change and reduce further harmful environmental impacts the reduction and substitution of fossil energy carriers is a main challenge for the next decades. Recently, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28, the participants agreed on the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era. Hydrogen, when produced using renewable energy, can be a substitute for fossil fuel carriers and enables the storage of the renewable energy, leading into a post-fossil age. This paper presents environmental impacts as well as levelized costs along the life cycle of water electrolysis technologies for hydrogen production. Methods The applied methodological approaches are Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC), both life cycle-oriented and based on consistent data sources and detailed assessments of prospective technological developments and their effects on environmental and economic indicators. The considered technological developments include electricity and critical raw material demand decreases on the one hand and lifetime as well as electrolysis capacity increases on the other hand. The objectives of the investigations are AEC, PEMEC, and SOEC as the currently most mature water electrolysis technologies for hydrogen production. Results The environmental impacts and life cycle costs provoked by the hydrogen production will significantly decrease in the long term (up to 2045). For the case of Germany, worst-case climate change results for 2022 are 27.5 kg CO2eq./kg H2. Considering technological improvements, electrolysis operation with wind power and a clean heat source, a reduction to 1.33 kg CO2eq./kg H2 can be achieved by 2045 in the best-case. The electricity demand of the electrolysis technologies is the main contributor to environmental impacts and levelized costs in most considered cases. Conclusions A unique combination of possible technological, environmental, and economic developments in the production of green hydrogen up to the year 2045 is presented. Based on a comprehensive literature research, several research gaps, like a combined comparison of all three technologies by LCA and LCC, were identified and research questions were posed and answered. Consequently, prospective research should not be limited to one water electrolysis but should be carried out with an openness to all three technologies. Furthermore, it is shown that data from the literature for the LCA and LCC of water electrolysis technologies differ considerably in some cases. Therefore, extensive research into the material inventories for plant construction is needed, but also into the energy and mass balances of plant operation, for a corresponding analysis. Even for today’s plants, the availability and transparency of literature data is still low and must be expanded.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Water electrolysis technologies in the future – projection of environmental impacts and levelized costs until 2045

Koj,

Zapp,

Wieland

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…The data used for the calculations are either based on generic assumptions or project-specific data. The exact data sources for the generic values and the life cycle inventory data can be found in the LCA methodology guide [42]. Fuel consumption during the use phase of the vehicle is based on data from the literature as described in Pichlmaier et al [42].…”

Section: Evaluation Criteria: Ecological Analysis (Lca)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Applicability of Synthetic Fuels and Their Life Cycle Analyses

Richter,

Braun-Unkhoff,

Hasselwander

et al. 2024

Energies

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This paper summarizes the findings of a detailed assessment of synthetic, electricity-based fuels for use in aviation, shipping, and road transport. The fuels considered correspond to the most promising alternatives that were analyzed as part of the German research project BEniVer (Begleitforschung Energiewende im Verkehr—Accompanying Research for the Energy Transition in Transport) initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). Focusing on usage, infrastructure, and ecological analyses, several e-fuels were evaluated and compared to fossil fuels according to the specific sector. It turns out that for all sectors evaluated, the existing sustainable synthetic fuels are already compatible with current technology and regulations. In shipping and road transport, the use of advanced, sustainable fuels will allow for a more distinct reduction in emissions once technology and regulations are adopted. However, standard-compliant synthetic gasoline and diesel are considered the most promising fuels for use in road transport if the transition to electricity is not realized as quickly as planned. For the aviation sector, the number of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) is limited. Here, the current aim is the introduction of a 100% SAF as soon as possible to also tackle non-CO2 emissions.

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“…It is done mostly in the form of using the energy composition of a national grid to compose the electricity background data in LCA. Two examples are conducted in Navas-Anguita et al [54], where a LCA of induced change in the environmental systems analysis through the adoption of electric vehicles in Spain is conducted, and in Pichlmaier et al [55], where the dynamisation of LCA by the integration of ESA dynamically is described. Pichlmaier et al declare the plan to integrate LCA indicators in their ESA models.…”

Section: Double Counting •mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adjustment of the Life Cycle Inventory in Life Cycle Assessment for the Flexible Integration into Energy Systems Analysis

2020

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With an increasing share of renewable energy technologies in our energy systems, the integration of not only direct emission (from the use phase), but also the total life cycle emissions (including emissions during resource extraction, production, etc.) becomes more important in order to draw meaningful conclusions from Energy Systems Analysis (ESA). While the benefit of integrating Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) into ESA is acknowledged, methodologically sound integration lacks resonance in practice, partly because the dimension of the implications is not yet fully understood. This study proposes an easy-to-implement procedure for the integration of LCA results in ESA based on existing theoretical approaches. The need for a methodologically sound integration, including the avoidance of double counting of emissions, is demonstrated on the use case of Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell photovoltaic technology. The difference in Global Warming Potential of 19% between direct and LCA based emissions shows the significance for the integration of the total emissions into energy systems analysis and the potential double counting of 75% of the life cycle emissions for the use case supports the need for avoidance of double counting.

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Dynamisation of Life Cycle Assessment Through the Integration of Energy System Modelling to Assess Alternative Fuels

Cited by 6 publications

References 14 publications

Water electrolysis technologies in the future – projection of environmental impacts and levelized costs until 2045

Water electrolysis technologies in the future – projection of environmental impacts and levelized costs until 2045

Evaluation of the Applicability of Synthetic Fuels and Their Life Cycle Analyses

Adjustment of the Life Cycle Inventory in Life Cycle Assessment for the Flexible Integration into Energy Systems Analysis

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