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Research Project SYSEET

System Comparison of storable renewable energy sources

Duration:
March 2017 until May 2019

Funded by:
Federal Environment Agency (UBA)

Project Participants:
Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung, Heidelberg (IFEU)
JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Graz

Project Manager at the Institute of Networked Energy Systems:
Dr. Sonja Simon

Project Description:
Germany is committed to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 95% until 2050. Therefore a decarbonisation of fuels for industry and long-distance traffic is also necessary. This requires both renewable electricity and different carbon sources, and leads to particular challenges: the necessary power demand will be a multiple of direct electricity consumption. Available carbon sources are either fossil (e.g., from industrial exhaust gases), limited (e.g., from biomass), or lead to additional energy demand (atmospheric CO2). Moreover, the provision of storable energy sources from renewable energy sources is not free of environmental pollution as the production of the facilities and the construction of the transport infrastructure are linked to relevant resource consumption, air and water emissions and land use.

The SYSEET project therefore pursues a systematic assessment of the supply of gaseous and liquid energy carriers based on renewable energy, biomass and CO2. To this end, a comprehensive technological and economic data base is created for numerous individual technologies. From these modules representative production pathways are identified and compared economically and ecologically. The basis for the comparison is the Lifecycle assessment, which takes into account all relevant environmental impacts and resource demand (raw materials, energy, land use) representing the years 2025 and 2050. The present or future costs of these energy carriers are also included in the overall assessment. The results of the research project provide a scientific basis for the most sustainable and efficient provision of these energy sources.

The project focuses on the following storable energy carriers in several technical variants:

• Hydrogen, either from renewable power via electrolysis as well as other innovative technologies
• Synthetic liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons produced by renewable power
• Liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons produced directly from biomass

Further information on the research project SYSEET:

• Final report