Electricity grid decarbonisation or green methanol fuel? A life-cycle modelling and analysis of today′s transportation-power nexus

Sustainability footprints of a renewable carbon transition for the petrochemical sector within planetary boundaries

“…The intermediate green methanol itself could be directly produced from renewable biomass resources or by the hydrogenation of captured CO 2 . In the case of the latter, H 2 can be generated from biomass or water (with the vast amounts of energy supplied by renewable power sources, e.g., wind, solar, bioenergy with CCS [BECCS] 5,10,11 ), and the required CO 2 could be captured either at point sources or directly from the air (via direct air capture [DAC]) and then converted into economically valuable chemicals via various technologies. 12,13 Collectively, these approaches are generally referred to as carbon capture and utilization (CCU) and arguably offer a route toward a closed-carbon chemical sector [14][15][16] or even deliver a negative emissions balance by permanently storing CO 2 in specific plastics or construction materials.…”

A quantitative roadmap for China towards carbon neutrality in 2060 using methanol and ammonia as energy carriers

“…In this regard, the potential of “renewable methanol”, which is produced from CO 2 , water, and renewable resources, was investigated by many pioneering studies ( Abate et al., 2015 ; Chen et al., 2019 ; Li et al., 2020 ; Robinius et al., 2017 ). It is noteworthy that most studies exploring the renewable methanol concept are limited to industrial scope by simply assuming abundant renewable energy and large demand of chemical products ( Al-Qahtani et al., 2020 ; Chen et al., 2019 ; Zhang et al., 2020 ). However, the impact of feedstock availability, technology transfer and penetration, and market structure are not taken into consideration.…”

“…Our previous paper ( Li et al., 2020 ), as a pioneer study, analyzed the energy-chemical nexus for renewable methanol production in China from the perspective of geography, sectoral development, environment, and economic cost. Many studies have also excessively emphasized extending the use of renewable energy and replacement of fossil fuel for both energy and chemical sectors ( Al-Qahtani et al., 2020 ; Kauw et al., 2015 ), which overlooks that a smooth and effective transition toward the energy-chemical nexus needs conjunctive use of both renewable energy and fossil fuels. The blue energy concept has not been intensively studied in the literature for energy-chemical nexus.…”

The role of hydrogen in heavy transport to operate within planetary boundaries

“…The authors found that the latter shows higher carbon reduction potential, yet both are suitable mitigation strategies. Focusing on the transport sector, the study carried out by Al-Qahtani et al 17 pointed out that the use of renewable hydrogen and CO 2 captured from fossil power plants to produce a fuel blend (10% gasoline and 90% methanol) has environmental benefits compared to conventional gasoline. However, as in Abanades et al , 16 Al-Qahtani and co-workers 17 concluded that, under the current scenario, the preferred option is to use renewable electricity to decarbonise the power system.…”

“…Focusing on the transport sector, the study carried out by Al-Qahtani et al 17 pointed out that the use of renewable hydrogen and CO 2 captured from fossil power plants to produce a fuel blend (10% gasoline and 90% methanol) has environmental benefits compared to conventional gasoline. However, as in Abanades et al , 16 Al-Qahtani and co-workers 17 concluded that, under the current scenario, the preferred option is to use renewable electricity to decarbonise the power system. Several authors agree on the suitability of hydrogen in fuel cell passenger vehicles as an alternative mobility option.…”