PhD project by, Anders Winther Mortensen SDU Life Cycle Engineering,
Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, and Environmental Technology Faculty of Engineering,
Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark Email: awm@kbm.sdu.dk
Project Period: September, 2016 to June, 2020
This PhD is part of the VILLUM Center for the Science for Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals (V-SUSTAIN). The key aim of V-SUSTAIN is to develop better catalysts to promote electrochemical production of hydrocarbon fuels (and ammonia), using electricity and subsequently hydrogen and carbon dioxide as feedstock. Fuels produced in this way, needing no fossil fuel resources nor biomass resources, are defined in this PhD project as electrofuels. For more information: http://www.v-sustain.dtu.dk/
Introduction:
To avoid some of the severe consequences of increasing global warming, we must keep the global temperature increase under 2°C, preferably 1.5°C.
To meet these targets, we have to make a transition into a fossil-fuel free society. The keystone in this transition is fuels for aviation, sea-, long-, and heavy road transportation.
There are several alternatives to fossil-based fuel, but they all face their own sustainability issues. Assessing and
understanding these constraints under future framework
conditions are important to understand the consequences of a large-scale implementation of these alternative fuels.
Aim:
To study the sustainability aspects of electrofuels, especially the long-term success criteria/performance criteria of the electrofuels and production technologies, to improve the feasibility of their large-scale implementation.
Method:
The comparative and holistic system analysis that will be conducted to assess the feasibility and long-term viability of electrofuels include:
Energy system analyses (ESA)
Consequential Life Cycle Assessment (C-LCA)
Material flow analysis (MFA)
Techno-economic assessment, including socio- economic analysis
Collaborative partners:
Expected outcomes:
1. A characterization and quantification of the key framework conditions, including economic conditions, for electrofuels to be preferred and/or competitive
2. A model that can provide a dynamic and scale dependent identification of marginal biomass supply Objectives:
To understand the contextual framework conditions of the fuels and technologies in question, including the market and competition aspects.
To analyze the challenge of refraining from using fossil fuels together with a quantification of this challenge.
To model future biomass supplies under varying future framework scenarios where the demand for biomass and arable land is growing.
