System: Investigating the role of circular syn-methane for security of supply
This work package investigates the feasibility of using syn-methane in the liberalized Belgian energy system. Energy system modeling and scenario analysis are required to investigate how, when and where CO2 capture and methanation should be implemented.
The system model will take the Loenhout storage facility and abundantly available natural gas grid into account, and indicate required supplementary investments in infrastructure.
EnergyVille develops new technologies and builds knowledge to support public and private stakeholders during their transition into an energy-efficient, defossilized and sustainable climate.
The demand for CO2 capture, methanation and storage of syn-methane are strongly dependent on the dynamics of the future energy system. At the right economic conditions, production of syn-methane is interesting if the price of CO2 surges. Interestingly, using syn-methane (generated from DAC-derived CO2) in gas-fired plants in combination with post-combustion CCS can theoretically generate negative emissions. Without post-combustion capture, a life-cycle analysis of the gas-fired plants could indicate a significant decrease in the cost of CO2 emissions if they were fed with syn-methane. Transport of molecules, operation and timing of the capture and methanation reactors depend on the available infrastructure and many other economic and societal aspects. The price of fossil methane has been low for a long period, but saw recent spikes due to multiple market disruptions. The price of hydrogen determines how and where capture and methanation will take place. If syn-methane production uses CO2 from the gas-fired powerplants, then CO2 capture and conversion occurs when there is no RES available (and hydrogen is expensive), or investments in CO2 storage are needed to store CO2 until the price of hydrogen is low enough. The proposed concept will hence rely on continuous capture at other industrial CO2 sources (e.g. petrochemical industry, VOC burning, …). Alternatively, syn-methane could be imported from regions with high renewable potential to compete economically with fossil natural gas. From a security of supply point of view, other market conditions may be at stake.
In this work-package, key guiding scenarios are created first to identify critical parameters and conditions for which syn-methane could play a role for security of supply in Belgium. These parameters can be utilized to set technical targets for the materials used in capture and methanation, as well as the reactor design. The guiding scenarios provide insights in the volume and value (the marginal electricity production cost) of syn-methane as a strategic reserve.
An extended module to the Belgian TIMES long-term investment planning and sustainability model will be built. This techno-economic module will explicitly include Belgian syn-methane production, starting from CO2 capture at specific sectors and locations and hydrogen from the backbone. This concept heavily relies on the characteristics of the capture and methanation materials and reactor design, and input from the other technical scopes will be required (WP.2-3). The system model incorporates the Loenhout gas storage location and its typical characteristics (capa ity, injection rate, …) and determines alternative pipeline infrastructure needs. This extended module complements ongoing research work by EnergyVille (work package leader) in the ETF projects PROCURA and TRILATE, where the model is being extended with hydrogen, power-to-X technologies, industrial energy & feedstock options and infrastructure. The extended model can be used to develop more detailed scenarios to study the use of syn-methane as a strategic reserve in Belgium, and reflect on whether integrated capture and methanation is feasible within the Belgian energy system.
Research questions:
- How much syn-methane can be produced in Belgium starting from local CO2 capture and hydrogen drawn from the hydrogen backbone, at a time horizon 2030-2050?
- What will be the cost of this syn-methane and how does it compare to imported syn-methane,
hydrogen or derivates (ammonia, methanol and liquid organic hydrogen carriers) from regions with large renewable potential? - Can (part of) this syn-methane be stored in the Loenhout gas storage? What additional infrastructure (pipelines, compressors) will be needed to store locally produced syn-methane?
Tasks
T1.1 Identification of critical conditions for production of synthetic methane
T1.2 Development of a techno-economic module to the TIMES model to integrate Belgian syn-methane production
T1.3 Development of detailed scenarios for syn-methane as a strategic reserve