This study presents a comparative analysis of electricity, hydrogen, and biodiesel as energy vectors, with a focus on powering an aluminum smelter in southern Italy. It evaluates these vectors in terms of efficiency, land requirements for carbon-neutral energy production, and capital expenditure, providing insights throughout the entire supply chain (upstream, midstream, and downstream) into their feasibility for industrial applications. The research reveals that biodiesel, despite being carbon neutral, is impractical due to extensive land requirements and lower efficiency if compared to other vectors. Hydrogen, downstream explored in two forms as thermal power generation and fuel cell technology, shows lower efficiency and higher capital expenditure compared to electricity. Additionally, green hydrogen production’s land requirements significantly exceed those of electricity-based systems. Electricity emerges as the most viable option, offering an overall higher efficiency, lower land requirements for its green production, and comparatively lower capital expenditure. The study’s findings highlight the importance of a holistic assessment of energy vectors, considering economic, environmental, and practical aspects along the entire energy supply chain, especially in industrial applications where the balance of these factors is crucial for long-term sustainability and feasibility. This comprehensive analysis provides valuable guidance for similar industrial applications, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach in the selection of energy vectors.
References
[1]
NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (2023) Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/
[2]
Dincer, I. (1999) Environmental Impacts of Energy. Energy Policy, 27, 845-854. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0301-4215(99)00068-3
[3]
Höök, M. and Tang, X. (2013) Depletion of Fossil Fuels and Anthropogenic Climate Change—A Review. Energy Policy, 52, 797-809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.10.046
[4]
Holdren, J.P., Smith, K.R., Kjellstrom, T., et al. (2000) Energy, the Environment, and Health. United Nations Development Programme.
[5]
IPCC (2018) Climate Change: 2014 Synthesis Report; IEA Statistics, 2016 Data; UN Environment Emissions Gap Reports, 2016 Data. IPCC-Global Warming of 1.5 ˚C.
[6]
Leyen, U. (2019) European Green Deal Video Statement Speech on 11/12/2019.
[7]
Belladonna, A. and Gili, A. (2020) How the European Green Deal Will Drive the Next Generation EU. Istituto Per Gli Studi Di Politica Internazionale. https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/how-european-green-deal-will-drive-next-generation-eu-26494
Christopher, K. and Dimitrios, R. (2012) A Review on Exergy Comparison of Hydrogen Production Methods from Renewable Energy Sources. Energy Environmental Science, 5, 6640-6651. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2ee01098d
[11]
IRENA (2019) Hydrogen: A Renewable Energy Perspective. International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi.
[12]
NREL (2018) Natural Gas Plants. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, US Department. https://atb.nrel.gov/electricity/2018/index.html?t=cg
[13]
US Department of Energy (2015) Fuel Cells Fact Sheet. US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/11/f27/fcto_fuel_cells_fact_sheet.pdf
[14]
McLarty, D., Brouwer, J. and Ainscough, C. (2016) Economic Analysis of Fuel Cell Installations at Commercial Buildings Including Regional Pricing and Complementary Technologies. Energy and Buildings, 113, 112-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.12.029
[15]
EIA (US Energy Information Administration) (2020) Cost and Performance Estimates for New Utility-Scale Electric Power Generating Technologies. https://www.eia.gov/analysis/studies/powerplants/capitalcost/pdf/capital_cost_aeo2020.pdf
[16]
US Department of Energy (N.D.) Hydrogen Storage—Basics. US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-storage
[17]
Gondal, I.A. (2016) Hydrogen Transportation by Pipelines. In: Gupta, R.B., Basile, A. and Veziroğlu, T.N., Eds., Compendium of Hydrogen Energy, Woodhead Publishing, Sawston, 301-322. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-78242-362-1.00012-2
[18]
Saadi, F.H., Lewis, N.S. and McFarland, E.W. (2018) Relative Costs of Transporting Electrical and Chemical Energy. Energy & Environmental Science, 11, 469-475. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7EE01987D
[19]
Parr, M. and Minet, S. (2020) What Is the Real Cost of Green Hydrogen? https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/opinion/what-is-the-real-cost-of-green-hydrogen/
[20]
IRENA (2020) Green Hydrogen Cost Reduction: Scaling up Electrolysers to Meet the 1.5 ˚C Climate Goal. International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi.
[21]
Jovan, D.J. and Dolanc, G. (2020) Can Green Hydrogen Production Be Economically Viable under Current Market Conditions. Energies, 13, Article No. 6599. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13246599
[22]
GSE (2019) Rapporto Statistico Solare Fotovoltaico. Centro Servizi Energetici. https://www.gse.it/documenti_site/documenti%20gse/rapporti%20statistici/solare%20fotovoltaico%20-%20rapporto%20statistico%202018.pdf
[23]
Andersson, J. and Grönkvist, S. (2019) Large-Scale Storage of Hydrogen. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 44, 11901-11919. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.03.063
[24]
Tarhan, C. and Çil, M.A. (2021) A Study on Hydrogen, the Clean Energy of the Future: Hydrogen Storage Methods. Journal of Energy Storage, 40, Article ID: 102676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2021.102676
[25]
IRENA (2020) Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019. International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi.
[26]
Groom, M., Gray, E. and Townsend, P. (2008) Biofuels and Biodiversity: Principles for Creating Better Policies for Biofuel Production. Conservation Biology, 22, 602-609. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00879.x
[27]
Biomass Energy Resource Center (2014) Biomass Energy: Efficiency, Scale, and Sustainability.
[28]
Zhang, T. (2020) Methods of Improving the Efficiency of Thermal Power Plants. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1449, Article ID: 012001. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1449/1/012001
[29]
Ericson, S. and Olis, D. (2019) A Comparison of Fuel Choice for Backup Generators. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL/TP-6A50-72509. https://doi.org/10.2172/1505554
[30]
Ofori-Boateng, C. and Lee, K.T. (2011) Feasibility of Jatropha Oil for Biodiesel: Economic Analysis. World Renewable Energy Congress, Linköping, 8-13 May 2011, 463-470. https://doi.org/10.3384/ecp11057463
Wirfs-Brock, J. (2015) Lost in Transmission: How Much Electricity Disappears between a Power Plant and Your Plug? https://insideenergy.org/2015/11/06/lost-in-transmission-how-much-electricity-disappears-between-a-power-plant-and-your-plug/#:~:text=so even though electricity may,are high, around four percent
[33]
Noack, J., Wietschel, L., Roznyatovskaya, N., Pinkwart, K. and Tübke, J. (2016) Techno-Economic Modeling and Analysis of Redox Flow Battery Systems. Energies, 9, Article No. 627. https://doi.org/10.3390/en9080627
[34]
Schmidt, O., Melchior, S., Hawkes, A., et al. (2019) Projecting the Future Levelized Cost of Electricity Storage Technologies. Joule, 3, 81-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2018.12.008
[35]
Clemente, A. and Costa-Castelló, R. (2020) Redox Flow Batteries: A Literature Review Oriented to Automatic Control. Energies, 13, Article No. 4514. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13174514
[36]
Fujimoto, C., Kim, S., Stains, R., Wei, X., Li, L. and Yang, Z.G. (2012) Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Efficiency and Durability Studies of Sulfonated Diels Alder Poly(Phenylene)s. Electrochemistry Communications, 20, 48-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elecom.2012.03.037
