Profitability and greenhouse gas emissions of gasification-based biofuel production - Analysis of sector specific policy instruments and comparison to conventional biomass conversion technologies

Abstract

The required level of a sector specific CO2e-cost in the transport sector to make the net annual profit (NAP) of three different gasification based biofuel production systems positive (systems profitable) is investigated. The analysis is made for two different energy market scenarios for 2030 and 2040. The results show that the additional required sector specific CO2e-cost (additional to a sector wide general cost) is not higher than the current level of CO2e-tax in Sweden. The required total level of CO2e-cost for the transport sector is in the 450 ppmv scenario in general higher than the current CO2-tax level but not higher than the fuel tax level (including also energy tax).The study also compares the NAP and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction potential of the gasification-based systems to a system where the biomass is used in conventional bio-CHP to produce heat and power and where the power is used in the transport sector (in battery electric vehicles (BEV)). Under the investigated energy market scenarios the bio-CHP and BEV system has higher NAP and higher GHG emission reduction potential. However, the bio-CHP system has a stronger dependency on the availability of large heat sinks and profits from a high price of delivered heat.