17:10 min, talk by Andrew Waugh in March 2020.
The bioeconomy can be a central building block for the transformation of our largely coal, oil and gas-based economy. However, renewable raw materials and synthetic carbon compounds are scarce and expensive. They should be used in areas such as the chemical industry - not as energy sources. For the shift from a fossil-based economy to a bioeconomy to succeed, fossil carbon must also become more expensive. The ifeu now presents the results of four trend-setting studies.
"Carbon compounds will continue to be needed in the chemical industry and, in the medium term, in parts of the transport sector. Here we can use biomass and other renewable carbon sources for chemicals, bio-based products or fuels, replacing fossil carbon in the form of oil and gas," says ifeu project manager Dr Heiko Keller. "Bioeconomy provides much more than fuels from agricultural biomass," adds Nils Rettenmaier, also project manager and expert on
Biomass and Bioeconomy at ifeu. However, the resources of the bioeconomy are a scarce commodity. Cultivation areas for renewable raw materials are limited by food production and the protection of biodiversity.
Such cultivated biomass can no more cover the long-term demand for carbon than can biogenic residues. Defossilisation of the economy needs framework conditions. In order to build a stable market, the bioeconomy would need fair competitive conditions in which its advantages over products made from
fossil CO2 sources are taken into account, according to the experts. Thus, in the long term, products from biogenic raw materials can prevail over the hitherto cheaper fossil raw materials through a higher CO2 tax. In addition, sufficient green electricity and hydrogen must be available in the medium term.
"If the right course is set, the bioeconomy can make a significant contribution to defossilisation," says Rettenmaier. "It is an important piece of the puzzle in the transformation towards a climate-friendly society.
For large parts of the economy, ways to say goodbye to fossil fuels are now foreseeable - for example with electric cars and heat pumps instead of combustion engines and gas heating. But a complete decarbonisation of the economic system is neither possible nor sensible. Therefore, ifeu is researching technologies that make sustainable renewable carbon available. The reports from four recently completed large-scale projects provide valuable new insights.
(Re)activating arable land that is hardly usable for other purposes
In the EU, there is a lot of unused arable land and some special sites such as post-mining areas. With the cultivation of frugal biomass on these so-called marginal areas, the increasing competition for land use can be mitigated. In the MAGIC project, ifeu has identified boundary conditions that must be met for sustainable implementation:
- Care must be taken not to endanger biodiversity, which can be high on parts of these areas, through use.
- Imposing conditions on subsidies that are necessary anyway can be a solution to this conflict of goals.
Detailed recommendations can be found in the report on MAGIC at
https://www.ifeu.de/projekt/magic
Converting biomass residues into products needed in the long term
Many residual materials such as straw or green waste from landscape conservation (so-called lignocellulosic residues) are not used to a large extent. Others, such as forest residues, are currently burned primarily for energy use. However, heat can and should be generated in the medium term, for example via heat pumps using green electricity. The scarce renewable carbon is too precious for these decarbonisable applications. New technologies are now being developed so that these residues can be efficiently converted into products such as chemicals or aviation fuel in the future.
The UNRAVEL project investigated how new processes and value chains for chemicals and building materials (insulating foam boards, bitumen sealing membranes, etc.) can be established. From a sustainability point of view, decisive progress was made:
- The process can now flexibly use different residual materials at constant product quality - depending on sustainable availability.
- The energy efficiency of the main process (organosolv) was significantly increased.
- A technical bottleneck has been identified that has so far been responsible for the fact that residual materials that are currently hardly used in particular can be converted less efficiently.
Concrete further steps on how the process could be further developed in a future-proof manner, both from a raw material and product perspective, are listed in the reports (link: https://www.ifeu.de/projekt/unravel).
Lignocellulosic residues can also serve as a feedstock for bio-oil by means of pyrolysis. A process developed in the BioMates project uses green hydrogen to prepare the bio-oil for easy feed into petroleum refineries. Partial replacement of petroleum in refineries with bio-oil can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the relatively short term. This is urgently needed from a sustainability perspective. In the long term, the share of refinery products for chemicals, aviation and marine fuels in particular could be expanded. The sustainability assessment is available at https://www.ifeu.de/projekt/biomates available.
Synthetic hydrocarbons
In the eForFuel project, it was not biomass that was investigated as a carbon source, but the synthesis of hydrocarbons from CO2 from industrial point sources (here: blast furnace gas) as well as the air. This can be converted to formic acid in an electro-biorefinery using renewable electricity and water and fermented in a bioreactor with the help of microorganisms. The end products are synthetic fuels such as propane and isooctane. Main findings from this project:
- Renewable carbon can be obtained in far greater quantities if it comes from CO2 instead of plant biomass. However, even in this case, efficient use is crucial, because harnessing it requires a great deal of energy.
- Many improvement options could be identified. However, some development work is still needed before it is ready for the market.
Details and reports are available at https://www.ifeu.de/projekt/eforfuel available.
Source: ifeu-PM of 15.2.2023
Keywords:
Building materials / Construction, DE-News, Research, Wood construction, NaWaRohs, Sustainable management, New books and studies, Resource efficiency, Environmental policy, Life cycle assessment
Decentrally generated electricity from renewable energies can cover the demand for electrical energy in Bavaria both in balance and in perspective. This is the result of a joint study by the grid operators Bayernwerk Netz GmbH (Bayernwerk), LEW Verteilnetz GmbH (LVN) and Main-Donau Netzgesellschaft. The Bavarian power grid operators have analysed which development paths are possible for Bavaria with regard to renewable power generation and whether climate neutrality can be achieved in the power sector. The grid operators received scientific support from the Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft e.V. (Research Centre for Energy Economics).
The current study follows on from the previous study from 2015 and describes the future development of renewable electricity generation in Bavaria. In four scenarios, the forecasts for wind and photovoltaic systems on buildings and open spaces are available in high regional resolution. The two scenarios "Interconnection" and "Regional Generation" look up to the year 2060 and assume complete climate neutrality of electricity generation in Bavaria. This requires a considerable increase in the number of photovoltaic and wind power plants. However, a CO2-neutral electricity supply cannot be achieved if the expansion trend of the last three years is merely continued (Trend scenario) or if the current federal policy framework (Policy scenario) is used as a basis.
"We need even more dynamism in the expansion of electricity generation from renewable energies if we want to achieve the idea of a climate-neutral energy supply," says Egon Westphal, technical director of Bayernwerk. "The distribution grids have a central role to play in this. They will continue to be the stable backbone of a decentralised energy supply in the future. The people of Bavaria can rely on this", says Dr. Egon Westphal.
In addition to the further integration of renewable plants into the electricity grid, the foreseeable increase in demand on the electricity grids as a result of new applications such as electromobility will also remain a central task. Through grid expansion, the use of innovative technologies as well as digitalisation and flexibilisation in generation, consumption and storage, the distribution grid operators see themselves well equipped for these tasks. "We can additionally optimise the necessary grid expansion if we can access flexibility options in generation, consumption and storage in a grid-serving manner," explained Dr Egon Westphal. In addition, the distribution grid operators will further intensify their cooperation in order to be able to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the electricity grids in the future as well.
The two scenarios "interconnection" and "regional generation" are particularly important with regard to climate policy goals. The interconnection scenario assumes a strong nationwide exchange of electricity via transmission lines - the most economical scenario in terms of cost optimisation under today's conditions. In the "Regional Generation" scenario, on the other hand, green electricity is preferably generated locally in Bavaria. In both scenarios, around 60 TWh of green electricity will already be generated in 2030, rising to around 85 TWh in 2060. If current electricity consumption is extrapolated, this amount would cover around 80 percent of electricity consumption in 2030. In 2060, Bavaria's green electricity plants will produce significantly more electricity than is consumed. In perspective, there will be enough renewable electricity available for the electrification of new applications such as electromobility, the expansion of heat pumps or power-to-X measures.
An important component in both scenarios is the strong expansion of photovoltaic plants: the installed PV capacity on buildings increases from currently 9,500 MW to 21,100 MW in 2030 and 32,400 MW in 2060. In the interconnection scenario, ground-mounted plants also record a significant increase, from currently 3,000 MW to 10,000 MW (2030) and 25,200 MW (2060). While in the regional scenario the expansion of ground-mounted systems is somewhat more restrained, wind power plays a more important role here. The scenario describes an increase in wind power from currently 2,800 MW to 5,700 MW (2030) and 9,300 MW (2060).
In the regional scenario, the strongest addition of wind power plants occurs in Lower Franconia with +1,500 MW. However, sites in the southern administrative districts (Lower Bavaria: +1,200 MW and Swabia: +1,100 MW) must also be developed in order to achieve the climate protection targets. In the other administrative districts, the expansion amounts to between 550 and 650 MW. In contrast to wind power, the expansion of ground-mounted systems is distributed more evenly across all administrative districts. With 2,300 MW, the largest addition is in the largest administrative district, Upper Bavaria.
More than 60 percent of Bayernwerk's grid is already made up of renewables.
Almost 300,000 plants feed electricity from renewable energies into the Bayernwerk grid, mostly from photovoltaics. In total, these systems have an output of almost 9,000 megawatts. Bayernwerk thus already transports more than 60 percent renewable energy in its grids. The most important energy sources are photovoltaics, hydropower and biomass. Wind plays a subordinate role.
Source: PM of Bayernwerk et al. from 28.11.2019.
Keywords:
100% EEs, Citizen Energy, CO2-neutral, DE-News, Renewable, Research, Climate protection, Media, Tenant electricity, Sustainable management, New books and studies, News Blog Bavaria, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Environmental policy, eMobility, Life cycle assessment, Ecology
The EU today agreed on stricter climate targets. Accordingly, greenhouse gases are now to be reduced by at least 55 percent below the 1990 level by 2030. Previously, the target was 40% for the same period. For the first time, the EU calculations also include the greenhouse gases stored in forests and other "sinks".
"Billion-dollar pots are planned for this purpose: a modernization fund fed by revenues from emissions trading; a fund for just change, but also the 750 billion Corona reconstruction fund, at least 30 percent of which is to be used to implement the climate goals." (zdf.de see below)
According to the environmental organisation Greenpeace, however, 65 percent less greenhouse gases would be needed in the EU to achieve the 1.5 degree target of the Paris climate agreement of 2015. Sven Giegold (Greens in the EU Parliament) criticized in particular that the EU states do not set national climate targets.
Further links
www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/klima-eu-2030-1.5144482
www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/eu-gipfel-klimaziel-100.html
The Greens in the Bundestag commented on the decision in a press release on 11.12.2020 as follows:
New EU climate target can only be a first step
Commenting on the EU Council's agreement on new climate targets Lisa Badum, Spokesperson for Climate Protection:
The agreement on the EU's 2030 climate target of -55 percent is very important and yet it is not enough. This is not a fair contribution by Europe to international climate protection and does not do justice to its responsibility and the Paris climate agreement. It is good that the EU is delivering its climate target in time for the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, but the calculation tricks on natural sinks are a very dangerous mistake and significantly diminish the target. It remains to be seen what the European Parliament can get out of the negotiations on the EU climate bill. In the best case, a higher climate target is possible after the fact, but it is necessary in any case.
The Green Deal promised us the climate revolution in Europe, this must now be tackled. The reconstruction of all states, and especially Germany, can only work if the money flows into emission-free production and economic methods. European emissions trading must become the leading instrument and, flanked by strong fleet limits, incentive programmes and CO2 limit compensation, must make the EU internal market completely emissions-free. The agreement on the common agricultural policy must be urgently renegotiated under this new climate objective; anything else would be contradictory.
As the German Council Presidency, the German government has somewhat loosened its climate blockade in the last few metres. It is remarkable how the Chancellor is negotiating a climate target in Brussels from which her energy and climate policy at home is light years away. The whole climate package, the CO2 price, coal phase-out, EEG amendment and energy efficiency must now be improved immediately. This target implies a much earlier German coal phase-out. The German government must make improvements here. Now more than ever, we need the massive expansion of renewable energies. The EEG amendment is still on the table in the Federal Cabinet and can be made fit for the new climate target. The German government must show that it takes the climate targets it has set itself seriously.
***
Here is also the press release of Germanwatch from 11.12.2020:
Climate agreement at summit: A big step for the EU, but still not enough for global climate target
New EU climate target for 2030 contributes to limiting global warming to two degrees - but still not enough for the necessary climate protection worldwide / Germanwatch calls for implementation with climate audit for public investments as well as more commitment of the EU to international partnerships
Brussels/Berlin (Dec. 11, 2020). The development and environmental organisation Germanwatch welcomes in principle the agreement of the heads of state and government on the new EU climate target of at least 55 percent emissions reduction by 2030. However, it criticises that the inclusion of CO2 sinks such as forests means that the real emissions reduction is likely to be several percentage points lower and misses sufficient commitment to achieve more worldwide: "Despite some weaknesses, the agreement on the climate target is a major step towards climate neutrality in the EU. For Germany, for example, this target means that the coal phase-out must now be completed by 2030. Just two years ago, such an agreement between all EU states would have been almost inconceivable. We owe this success to all the people who have campaigned for more climate protection in recent years," says Christoph Bals, Political Director of Germanwatch.
Germanwatch calls on the German government to now lobby the EU for a strong set of rules that will quickly meet the new 2030 climate target. "Particularly important is the question of how the EU and the member states will spend their money in the future. The summit decision calls for the EU budget and Corona aid packages to be used in a way that supports the achievement of the climate targets," explains Bals. "To do this, the EU institutions must now establish clear verification mechanisms so that where it says climate action on it, it is climate action on it. The verification framework for sustainable investments - the so-called EU taxonomy - protects us from technological aberrations and must become the benchmark for the entire EU budget and the stimulus packages."
The heads of state and government have left loopholes in their decision that must be closed in the upcoming final deliberations on the European climate law by the EU Parliament, the Commission and the environment ministers. "The climate target will be watered down if the necessary emission reductions can in future simply be offset against the natural removal of CO2 from the air by forests, moors and agriculture. To strengthen these natural sinks, there needs to be a separate target with a sub-target for agriculture and a mechanism for achieving the target. But this target should be set in addition to a pure emissions reduction target," Bals said. "It is true that the EU can show itself with this climate target tomorrow at the UN summit to mark the anniversary of the Paris Agreement. But measured against the goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees if possible, it is still too little. We miss more commitment to climate partnerships with important emerging economies to enable ambitious climate protection, for example in India, South Africa and Indonesia, via technological and financial cooperation."
Further information:
- Germanwatch on EU climate targets: www.germanwatch.org/de/18934
- Germanwatch on the European Green Deal: www.germanwatch.org/de/european-green-deal
Keywords:
DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, News Blog Europe (without DE), Environmental policy
2:40 Min., Published: 5/2014
A new approach to storing surplus wind power is compressed air storage. The energy could be stored in the form of compressed air in underground caverns. Energy reporter Lars Tepel visits researchers at DLR in Stuttgart.
Keywords:
100% EEs, CO2-neutral, DE-News, Energy storage, Renewable, Movies, Movies < 4 Min, Research, Electricity storage
