Post by Christian Breyer

Electrification vs hydrogen for energy-intensive industries 1/ New research LUT University Philipp Diesing Reiner Lemoine Kolleg https://lnkd.in/d_sTUzWF compares direct electrification and green hydrogen technologies for four energy intensive industries. 2/ Present research lacks comprehensive in-depth comparisons of innovative technologies, beyond costs and CO2 emissions. To explore real-world application potential, a set of 11 criteria is identified, covering technical, economic, and ecological indicators. 3/ This research study links to the overall energy-intensive industry transition research for zero CO2 emissions: https://lnkd.in/dV3FSmwR 4/ Four industries are selected: cement & glass as examples for high-temperature heat provision (power-to-heat versus hydrogen combustion) and ammonia & methanol as examples for hydrogen-based chemical synthesis (electrocatalysis versus green hydrogen feedstock). 5/ Methods: A multi-criteria decision framework is developed. Criteria scores are normalised using a five-point Likert type scale for a pair-wise comparison, weighted and results calculated using the weighted sum method. 6/ Different weighting strategies are used: 1) equal weights, 2) expert weighting derived from a research-focused industry expert sample and 3) a weighting sensitivity analysis. 7/ Results: Energy cost projections are identified as the criteria with the highest importance, according to the expert survey, while projections are subject to uncertainties. 8/ Direct electrification reduces energy costs, land impact, and NOx emissions. Green hydrogen, if available, is technically easier to implement and more mature. 9/ Direct electrification technologies achieve a higher score for glass and ammonia industry. Practical difficulties remain such as scalability issues of electric glass melting tanks and low Faradaic efficiency of electrocatalysis. 10/ Future research should aim to close remaining research gaps for less mature technologies, closely follow developments and breakthroughs, and integrate promising technologies in existing energy system models and decision-making processes. 11/ Conclusions: With progress in research and development, direct electrification technologies can significantly reduce hydrogen demand in industry, and therefore, energy costs. Hybrid solutions may help to overcome limitation of each strategy. 12/ Listen to the direct electrification and green hydrogen technologies for four energy intensive industries paper in the new podcast on our research results: https://lnkd.in/d8CbM7z5 Reiner Lemoine Institut gGmbH Philipp Blechinger Brian Vad Mathiesen Henrik Lund Tom Brown Pao-Yu Oei Claudia Kemfert Matthias Deutsch Jero Ahola Georg Kobiela Julia Metz Agora Industry Agora Energiewende Anna Leipprand Chris Bataille Alla Toktarova Fraunhofer ISI Stefan Lechtenböhmer Prof. Dr.-Ing. Manfred Fischedick Paul Münnich