Identifying National and Regional Carbon Sources for
Synthetic Fuel Production: Case Study for Finland
Lappeenranta University of Technology
Finland
Hannu Karjunen, Tero Tynjälä, Timo Hyppänen
Contact: [email protected]
Introduction
The global share of solar and wind in electricity generation could increase to
50 % by 2050 [1,2]. Energy systems with large amounts of intermittent
energy sources require more rigorous power stabilization and storage
services than conventional systems. Power-to-gas can produce synthetic
fuels, which can be used for energy storage or transportation, for instance.
The manufacturing process for hydrocarbons requires two basic
components: hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Hydrogen can be obtained
from electrolysers, ideally operated with low-cost sustainable energy such
as solar and wind power. Carbon dioxide could be captured directly from
air, or from stationary point sources, e.g. power plants.
The objective of this work is to identify the potential carbon sources for
large scale application of P2G in Finland, and to investigate the different
infrastructural challenges associated with P2G deployment. Focus is
on the scale of CO2 sources, size of storages and the consequences of
different configurations of CO2 capture.
[1] IPCC. Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change
[2] Greenpeace International. Energy [R]evolution: a sustainable world
energy outlook 2015
Pulp & Paper Mill
Power / heat plant
Railroad
Natural Gas Pipeline
Left side of the figure shows how Finland was divided into provinces for the national study. On
the right side, the region of South Karelia is shown in detail. These regional studies further
increase the reliability of the results and enables the tracking of plant-level interactions.
Results
A energy scenario for a 100% renewable Finland in 2050 was used as a
base for this work. Roughly 6 million tons of CO2 is required in this
scenario for P2G, and the synthetic gas is used primarily as a fuel by
industry and district heat facilities.
Potential CO2 Sources in Finland
~2012
< 1%
Fossil and biogenic
% %
2
3
~56 million tons
7%
Energy conversion
Total hourly CO2 production and consumption
8%
43%
Intermittent
Resources
Stored CO 2 (kt)
1500
Power & Heat
Pulp & Paper
Steel
Oil & Chemicals
Cement & Lime
Waste incineration
Biogas
1000
500
0
Jan
Mar
May
Jul
Share of total P2G capacity
in different provinces
Sep
Nov
Jan
Optimal transport mode (Pipe/Rail/Road)
Consumers
Pipe
Rail
Transport
Buildings
Industry
38%
Cost of CO2 Transport (€/t)
Power-to-X
Total CO2 storage level
Road
Energy flow diagram from the primary resources to the consumer sectors. The figure
demonstrates the supplementary nature of power-to-gas technology and its integration with the
existing energy system.
Methodology
Conclusions
Region scale
Province scale
A model has been developed to track the amount of CO2 emitted by the
energy sector in Finland in an hourly time resolution. The CO2 emissions
are also distributed to smaller regions according to current statistics. A
similar approach is done for the demand side by predicting the synthetic
fuel demand in different regions. CO2 balance can be formulated for
each region, and as a result the required storage sizes are obtained and, if
necessary, possible transportation routes and costs for CO2. An in-depth
analysis of single regions is possible when details about individual plants
are fed into the model.
+
Energy scenario
+
Temporal CO2
distribution
Spatial CO2
distribution
+
Province scenario
=
+
CO2 source
information
CH4
€
CO2 balance
Storage levels
System cost / performance
=
Temporal CO2
distribution
CO2
CO2
CH4
The largest factor for CO2 price for P2G is likely the cost of capture, both
in terms of investment and operation cost. Pipe transport requires large
quantities of CO2 to be economically viable. Rail transport could be a
feasible alternative for smaller quantities. The geographical deployment
of P2G has important consequences in the electric, gas and heat grids
that should be investigated further.
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the public financing of Tekes, the
Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, for the ‘Neo-Carbon Energy’ project
under the number 401 01/14.
€
CO2 balance
Storage levels
System cost / performance
The model can be scaled to focus either on provincial or regional scale.
The final extent of P2G technology adaptation is unknown at this
moment. Deployed pilot P2G units in the world are using high quality CO 2
sources, such as biogas. Bulk production would require shifting to more
conventional CO2 sources, such as pulp and paper facilities and baseload
power generation units. Seasonal fluctuation of CO 2 generation dictates
that storages are required unless intermittent operation is accepted.
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