Avoided CO2 Emissions Research Articles

Enhancing shipboard waste heat management with advanced technologies

The complexity of the energy systems onboard ships, combined with the different operating/weather conditions and the availability of cutting-edge technologies, makes analyses for improving the energy and environmental performances of ships time consuming and challenging. From this point of view, this article provides new criteria for the sustainable design and management of energy systems of existing or new ships. In particular, the impact of the adoption of organic Rankine cycle units, wet steam volumetric expanders, and single or double effect absorption chillers is here investigated. Two types of ships are examined as suitable case studies, evaluating the impact of each technology and their combinations by varying the shipping cruises. By using a dynamic simulation approach, potential savings and optimal solutions are assessed for different energy system layouts by also comparing their economic, energy and environmental impact performance. Results are reported in specific performance matrices for helping stakeholders in preliminary energy efficiency analyses.In particular, outcomes show that high cooling demands of ships in the Caribbean Sea enable primary energy savings close to 4.5 %, compared to 3.5 % in the Mediterranean Sea and 3 % in the North Sea. In the latter case, cooling needs can be almost fully balanced through the examined energy recovery technologies. Screw expanders integrate best in all operating conditions with short paybacks, whilst organic Rankine cycles (with electrical efficiency above 8%) are advantageous especially in cold climate routes. Benefits on environmental impact are significant, with avoided CO2 emissions around 6 kt/y, depending on the selected ship cruise.

Sustainability and Technoeconomic Assessment of Polygeneration Process for LNG Cold Recovery

AbstractLiquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminals have specification that necessitates adjustment of heating value of LNG feed. One strategy to reduce heating value is to separate heavier hydrocarbons from LNG by utilizing LNG cold energy. The amount of cold energy utilized in recovering heavy hydrocarbon is much less resulting in wastage of remaining cold energy. To reverse this wastage, we propose a polygeneration process that encompasses an organic Rankine cycle to generate electricity and refrigeration for cold storage warehouse cooling and data center cooling by utilizing remaining cold energy. Based on process simulation and optimization, we found that a significant amount of cold energy is utilized resulting in an avoided CO2 emission, thereby enhancing sustainability of an LNG regasification terminal.

Ethylamine as a regenerative fuel for emission-free direct liquid fuel cell

Discovery of energy-dense and emission-free fuels for low-temperature fuel cell technology remains an important research theme to achieve efficient, clean electricity generation. In this study, we report the study of ethylamine as a regenerative fuel for emission-free fuel cells. The electrocatalytic ethylamine dehydrogenation reaction on commercial Pt catalyst under alkaline conditions exhibits fast reaction kinetics and produces acetonitrile as sole product, which can be readily hydrogenated back to ethylamine for reuse and thereby avoid CO2 emissions. By assembling and testing a direct ethylamine fuel cell, we demonstrate the capability of this regenerative fuel for clean electricity generation. The fuel cell performances are evaluated with different ethylamine fuel concentrations and operation temperatures and compared with other direct liquid fuel cells, highlighting promising prospects for utilizing ethylamine as a regenerative fuel in fuel cells for efficient and clean electricity generation.

Choice architecture promotes sustainable choices in online food-delivery apps.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the food system constitute about one-third of the global total, hence mitigation in this sphere of human activity is a vital goal for research and policy. This study empirically tests the effectiveness of different interventions to reduce the carbon footprint of food choices made on food-delivery apps, using an incentive-compatible online randomized controlled trial with 4,008 participants. The experiment utilized an interactive web platform that mimics popular online food-delivery platforms (such as Just Eat) and included three treatment conditions: a sign-posted meat tax, a carbon-footprint label, and a choice-architecture intervention that changed the order of the menu so that the lowest carbon-impact restaurants and dishes were presented first. Results show that only the choice-architecture nudge significantly reduced the average meal carbon footprint-by 0.3 kg/CO2e per order (12%), driven by a 5.6 percentage point (13%) reduction in high-carbon meal choices. Moreover, we find evidence of significant health and well-being co-benefits. Menu repositioning resulted in the average meal order having greater nutritional value and fewer calories, whilst significantly increasing self-reported satisfaction with the meal choice. Simple back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that menu repositioning would be a highly cost-effective policy instrument if implemented at scale, with the return on investment expected to be in the range of £1.28 to £3.85 per metric ton of avoided CO2 emissions, depending on implementation costs.

Technical and economic feasibility of hybrid power generation from urban solid waste associated with solar energy, considering the impact of the sale of carbon credits

In the global context of energy transition, from a model dependent on fossil fuels to a low-carbon matrix, hybrid plants, those that combine more than one energy source, prove to be an effective strategy for the increasing of the use of renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the creation of instruments that consider the environmental benefits of energy sources, such as the carbon credit market, which allows the trading of avoided CO2 emissions in the energy generation process, can contribute to the economic viability of low emission sources. In this sense, the objective of this research was to analyze the technical and economic feasibility of hybrid generation from municipal solid waste (MSW) associated with photovoltaic energy, to meet the demands of small city councils in Brazil, considering the commercialization of carbon credits. The economic indicators Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Capital Payback Time (PAYBACK) and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) were calculated for four different MSW management scenarios of the Intermunicipal Consortium of Municipalities of the Alto Sapucaí for Sanitary Landfill (CIMASAS, in portuguese), considering different percentages of recycling of dry and organic materials. The generation modalities Self-Production (APE, in portuguese) and Mini and Micro Distributed Generation (MMGD, in portuguese), provided for in the Brazilian regulatory framework, were considered. The results demonstrated that there are technical and economic viability in the proposed hybrid generation in all scenarios analyzed, and as the percentage of recovery of recyclable materials increases, there is an improvement in economic indicators. On average, in the APE modality, the NPV was 49.10 % higher than in MMGD, the IRR was 21.66 % higher, the payback was 51.68 % lower and the LCOE was 40.80 % lower than in MMGD. The inclusion of revenue from the sale of carbon credits promoted an average increase of 47.33 % in NPV, 24.09 % in IRR, and a decrease of, on average, 28.17 % in payback and 40.57 % in LCOE, in APE modality. In the MMGD modality, there was an average increase of 134.99 % in NPV, 39.46 % in IRR, and a decrease of, on average, 38.61 % in payback and 36.98 % in LCOE. These results demonstrate how the incorporation of environmental valuation in energy generation can contribute to increasing the economic attractiveness of hybrid generation from renewable sources.

A digital workflow for assessing lifespan, carbonation, and embodied carbon of reusing concrete in buildings

Concrete is the most used construction material, accounting for 8 % of global CO2 emissions. Various strategies aim to reduce concrete's embodied carbon, such as using supplementary cementitious materials, utilizing cleaner energy, and carbonation. However, a large potential lies in reusing concrete for new buildings in a Circular Economy, thereby closing material loops and avoiding CO2 emissions. This study focuses on the reuse of precast concrete elements. We present a digital workflow for assessing reuse by predicting the remaining service life, estimating CO2 uptake by natural carbonation, and calculating the embodied carbon savings of concrete reuse. Both carbonation rates from EN 16757 and our investigation were applied to a case study building. While EN 16757 rates suggest that most precast elements have reached the end of their service life, our assessment shows that these elements have a sufficient lifespan for reuse. Plaster and coverings significantly delay carbonation and extend service life. During the first service life following EN 16757, carbonation was 19,2 kg CO2/m3, whereas our prediction was 5,4 kg CO2/m3. Moreover, CO2 uptake during service life, including reuse, was less than 6 % of the embodied carbon. The climate benefits of reuse greatly exceeded those of carbonation. Furthermore, carbonation did not have a decisive influence when applying Cut-Off, Distributed, and End-of-Life allocations for assessing embodied carbon of re-used elements in subsequent life cycles. The digital workflow is useful in quickly assessing lifespan, carbonation, and embodied carbon of concrete. It can be leveraged as a decision-making tool when designing for reuse.

Application to novel smart techniques for decarbonization of commercial building heating and cooling through optimal energy management

The present article proposes a novel smart building energy system utilizing deep geothermal resources through naturally-driven borehole thermal energy storage interacting with the district heating network. It includes an intelligent control strategy for lowering operational costs, making better use of renewables, and avoiding CO2 emissions by eliminating heat pumps and cooling machines to address the heating and cooling demands of a commercial building in Uppsala, a city near Stockholm, Sweden. After comprehensively conducting techno-environmental and economic assessments, the system is fine-tuned using artificial neural networks (ANN) for optimization. The study aims to determine which ANN design and training procedure is the most efficient in terms of accuracy and computing speed. It also assesses well-known optimization algorithms using the TOPSIS decision-making technique to find the best trade-off among various indicators. According to the parametric results, deeper boreholes can collect more geothermal energy and reduce CO2 emissions. However, deep drilling becomes more expensive overall, suggesting the need for multi-objective optimization to balance costs and techno-environmental benefits. The results indicate that Levenberg-Marquardt algorithms offer the optimum trade-off between computation time and error minimization. From a TOPSIS perspective, while the dragonfly algorithm is not ideal for optimizing the suggested system, the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm is the most efficient since it yields more ideal points rated below 100. The optimization yields a higher energy production of 120 kWh/m2, as well as a decreased levelized cost of energy of 57 $/MWh, a shorter payback period of two years, and a reduced CO2 index of 1.90 kg/MWh. The analysis reveals that despite the high investment costs of 382.50 USD/m2, the system is financially beneficial in the long run due to a short payback period of around eight years, which aligns with the goals of future smart energy systems: reduce pollution and increase cost-effectiveness.

Effect of Thermoactivated Recycled Cement, Hardened Cement Powder and Hydrated Lime on the Compressive Strength of Mortars.

Thermoactivated recycled cement (RC) is a growing area of research and development in the cement industry. The approach represents a reversible process of cement hydration in which dehydrated compounds with similar characteristics to cement are obtained by means of thermal activation. To avoid CO2 emissions during the production of such RC, this study assesses the possibility of replacing ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with hardened cement powder (HCP) prepared with different proportions of hydrated lime (HL), relying on a second pozzolanic reaction, and compares it with RC mortars. Due to the thermal activation of HCP, the compressive strength increases by 11.5%. The addition of 8% HL produced an important increase in strength from 28 days to 90 days by 12.8%, although without surpassing the strength values of mortar produced only with HCP or with RC. The compressive strength results suggest the existence of a secondary pozzolanic reaction when using HCP from a cement paste source, but such a pozzolanic reaction was fully perceived in XRD patterns when using concrete as parent material, unlike cement paste, possibly due to large crystalline sand peaks that could have hindered the effective identification of smaller crystalline peaks.

Main current legal and regulatory frameworks for carbon dioxide capture, transport, and storage in the European Economic Area

There is broad consensus on the key role that carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, transport, and storage (CCTS) systems will play in mitigating climate change, either by removing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it permanently or by avoiding CO2 emissions generated by point sources, especially from hard-to-abate sectors (e.g., waste-to-energy, cement, shipping or aviation). Although CCTS is ready to be implemented from a technical standpoint, the legal and regulatory framework required for its implementation and regulation could be further improved. In this article, we summarize and critically discuss the provisions of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (the ‘OSPAR Convention’), and of the London protocol, as well as of the European CCS and ETS Directives. With a focus on the European Economic Area, we highlight existing gaps and hurdles that should be tackled in view of the large-scale deployment of CCTS. Furthermore, as the legal landscape for CO2 transport and geological storage is evolving rapidly, we provide an overview of recent clarifications on aspects of the existing legislation and a summary of new proposals presented by the European Commission in this space.

In situ performance evaluation of a solar water heating system for a hospital laundry in the Sahel

There is a limited number of empirical studies on the actual energy output of solar water heating systems (SWHSs). In the Sahel, where solar potential is abundant, the transition to sustainable energy solutions requires comprehensive evaluations of SWHSs, including their economic viability. Such assessments are crucial for informed decision-making by stakeholders and for facilitating the widespread adoption of SWHSs, including their integration into industrial processes. This paper presents a year-round experimental study assessing the real-world performance and economic viability of a SWHS integrated into a hospital laundry in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The primary aim of the study is to analyse the practical performance of the integrated collector storage (ICS) SWHS and evaluate its economic viability. The performance of the ICS SWHS is monitored over the course of a year. Data collection included measurements of solar irradiation, ambient temperature, inlet and outlet water temperatures, and energy output of the SWHS. Economic assessments considered factors such as installation costs, energy savings, and payback periods. Environmental implications were evaluated through the estimation of avoided CO2 emissions. The ICS SWHS achieved an efficiency of 38 % and a solar fraction of 17 %, resulting in approximately 1.3 t of avoided CO2 emissions annually. Economic assessments revealed extended payback periods, leading to exploration of alternatives. Subsequently, a water-in-glass evacuated tube collector (ETC) system, deemed more cost-effective, was selected and it indicated superior energy production. Preliminary results suggest compelling payback periods for the ETC system, ranging from 3.1 to 4.5 years under realistic scenarios. The study underscores the significance of practical experimentation, appropriate technology selection, and improved market regulations for informed decision-making. SWHSs present a promising avenue for sustainable energy solutions in the Sahelian region and beyond, offering both economic benefits and environmental impact.

Feasibility-sustainability study of power generation using solar energy at an industrial site: a case study from Egypt

BackgroundFossil fuel utilization is the biggest contributor to the emissions of greenhouse gases which are the main reason for global warming. Solar energy photovoltaic (PV) technology is one of the most rapidly rising technologies and is a sturdy candidate to replace fossil fuels due to its versatility. Egypt receives high solar intensity which makes it a perfect place for utilizing this technology. However, for the past years, the focus in Egypt was on using solar energy for residential applications, henceforth a research gap was identified in studying the feasibility of using solar energy for industrial applications in Egypt. To ensure the sustainability of this application, this feasibility study addresses technical, economic, environmental, and social aspects.ResultsA case study is investigated for utilizing solar PV panels for energy generation in Egypt at an industrial site. A food factory was studied under three scenarios. Scenario 1 is the baseline case for the other scenarios with fixed tilted PV panels and no storage, Scenario 2 is the same as Scenario 1 with difference in is the model of the PV panels with no tracking or storage system. Scenario 3 has a vertical axis tracking system. Software was used to simulate the performance of the three scenarios for 25 years. Results have shown that Scenario 1 and Scenario 2 had close values of the annual energy production. However, Scenario 3 produces 2047 MWh annually which is considerably higher. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to test the effect of some economic parameters on the financial feasibility.ConclusionsAll the three scenarios are found to be feasible. Scenario 1 has the shortest discounted payback period with a net present value of 414,110.12 USD, a nominal levelized cost of energy of 0.022 USD/kWh, and avoided CO2 emissions of 14,898.993 tons. Although Scenario 3 has higher costs, it has higher energy production and better impact on the environment with 18,891.435 tons of avoided CO2 emissions. The paper concluded that a generalization could be done about using solar PV systems in Egypt for energy generation to be sustainable and feasible technically, economically, and environmentally.

Large differences between observed and expected Ecuadorian deforestation from 2001 to 2009: a counterfactual simulation approach

Ensuring the integrity of the world’s forests is indispensable for mitigating climate change, combatting biodiversity loss, and protecting the livelihoods of rural communities. While many strategies have been developed to address deforestation across different geographic scales, measuring their impact against a fluctuating background of market-driven forest loss is notoriously challenging. In this article, we (1) asses deforestation in Ecuador using a dynamic, counterfactual baseline that excludes non-market factors, (2) identify periods of reduced and excess deforestation, and (3) assess the economic consequences of associated CO2 emissions using the social cost of carbon metric. We construct a counterfactual market-forces-only reference scenario by simulating heterogeneous profit-seeking agents making satisficing land-use allocation decisions under uncertainty. The model simulates a reference scenario for 2001–2022, a period encompassing dollarization, the beginning of a constitution granting inalienable rights to nature, and the launch of the largest payments for ecosystem services program in Ecuador’s history. On this period, total deforestation was approximately 20% lower than expected in a market-forces-only scenario (9540 vs.12,000 km2). The largest deviation occurred in 2001–2009, when observed deforestation was 43.6% lower than expected (3720 vs 6590 km2). From 2010 onwards, deforestation appears to be market-driven. We assess the economic value of avoided CO2 emissions at US $5.7 billion if the reduction is permanent, or US $3.1 billion considering a 1% risk of loss from 2022 onwards. We discuss contributing factors that likely shaped periods of reduced and excess deforestation and stress the need to use realistic baselines.

Life Cycle Assessment of Wheat Straw Pyrolysis with Volatile Fractions Chemical Looping Combustion

Among the approaches to facilitating negative CO2 emissions is biochar production. Biochar is generated in the pyrolysis of certain biomasses. In the pyrolysis process, carbon in the biomass is turned into a solid, porous, carbon-rich, and stable material that can be captured from the soil after a period of from a few decades to several centuries. In addition to this long-term carbon sequestration role, biochar is also beneficial for soil performance as it helps to restore soil fertility and improves the retention and diffusion of water and nutrients. This work presents a Life Cycle Assessment of different pyrolysis approaches for biochar production. Biomass pyrolysis is performed in a fixed-bed reactor, which operates at a mild temperature (550 °C). Biochar is obtained as solid product of the pyrolysis, but there are also liquid (bio-oil) and gaseous products (syngas). The pyrolysis gas is partly used to fulfil the energy demand of the pyrolysis process, which is highly endothermic. In the conventional approach, CO2 is produced during the combustion of syngas and emitted to the atmosphere. Another approach to facilitate CO2 capture and thus obtain more negative CO2 emissions in the pyrolysis process is burning syngas and bio-oil in a Chemical Looping Combustion unit. Life Cycle Assessment was performed of these approaches toward biomass pyrolysis to evaluate their environmental impact. The Chemical Looping Combustion approach significantly reduced the values of 7 of the 16 environmental impact indicators studied, along with the Global Warming Potential among them, it slightly increased the value of one indicator related to the use of fossil resources, and it maintained the values of the remaining 8 indicators. Environmental impact reduction occurs due to the avoidance of CO2 and NOx emissions with Chemical Looping Combustion. The CO2 balances of the different pyrolysis approaches with Chemical Looping Combustion configurations were compared with a base case, which constituted the direct combustion of wheat straw to obtain thermal energy. Direct biomass combustion for the production of 17.1 MJ of thermal energy had CO2 positive emissions of 0.165 kg. If the gaseous fraction was burned by Chemical Looping Combustion, CO2 was captured and the emissions became increasingly negative, until a value of −3.30 kg/17.1 MJ was generated. If bio-oil was also burned by this technology, the negative trend of CO2 emissions continued, until they reached a value of −3.66 kg.

Mechanical Properties of a Structural Component Processed in High-Pressure Die Casting (HPDC) with a Non-Heat-Treated Aluminum Alloy

This industrial research focuses on the implementation and development of a productive process for an automotive structural component (Shock tower) manufactured by a high-pressure die casting (HPDC) process made of aluminum alloy AuralTM-5. This aluminum alloy has been considered in diverse automotive and aerospace components that do not require heat treatment due to its mechanical properties as cast material (F temper). On the other hand, AuralTM-5 has been designed for processing as HPDC because it is an alloy with good fluidity, making it ideal for large castings with thin-wall thicknesses, like safety structural components such as rails, supports, rocker panels, suspension crossmembers, and shock towers. The mechanical properties that were evaluated for the evaluated components were yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and elongation. Eight samples were taken from different areas of each produced shock tower for evaluating and verifying the homogeneity of each casting. The samples were evaluated from the first hours after they were manufactured by casting until eight weeks after being produced. This was performed to understand the behavior of the alloy during its natural aging process. Two groups of samples were obtained. One set of components was heat-treated by a water quench process after the castings’ extraction and the other set of components was not quenched. Results demonstrated that both sets of components, quenched and not quenched, achieved the expected values for the AuralTM-5 of yield strength ≥ 110 MPa, ultimate tensile strength ≥ 240 MPa, and elongation ≥ 8%. Additionally, this is very important for industry since by not treating the structural components by quenching, there are savings in terms of infrastructure and energy consumption, together with benefits in the environmental aspect by avoiding CO2 emissions and being sustainable.

Carbon storage units and carbon storage obligations: A review of policy approaches

Policies that incentivize the capture and geological storage of CO2 from large point sources (‘CCS’; and more recently, atmospheric removals), have so far tended to reward the resultant avoided CO2 emissions (or CO2 removals) achieved by operators at the point of capture. The expectation has been that geological CO2 storage sites, as well as the connecting infrastructure, will be developed and operated based upon the funding delivered from the single point of incentive (e.g. under an emissions trading system or a carbon tax, only CO2 capture installation operators are absolved of the obligation to acquire and surrender CO2 emission rights or to pay the tax). Project-based crediting mechanisms (e.g. in the voluntary carbon market) tend to treat the entire chain of operations as a single entity to be supplied with emission reduction or removal credits. Consequently, there has been minimal explicit financial incentive to store CO2. Yet a multiple gigaton-per-year scale capture and storage industry requires complex CO2 networks to evolve, with multiple sources connecting to multiple sinks, with installations owned by different operators with different technical expertise, climate mitigation goals and obligations. This multiplicity of goals and incentives can create agency problems and cross-chain risks, which impact negatively upon investment decisions. In this paper, we review the history, evolution and potential of geological net zero (GNZ) and carbon storage (or takeback) obligation concepts applied to fossil carbon producers and suppliers as a means to address these risks alongside policies aimed at atmospheric net zero (ANZ) and fossil carbon emitters.

Thermoeconomic, environmental and uncertainty assessments and optimization of a novel large-scale/low carbon hydrogen liquefaction plant integrated with liquefied natural gas cold energy

Abstract Presently, the liquefaction of hydrogen represents a promising solution to alleviate challenges associated with its storage and transportation. It is crucial to formulate methodological frameworks for scrutinizing hydrogen liquefaction routes to enhance energy efficiency. This paper endeavors to establish, assess feasibility, and refine a novel approach for a high-capacity hydrogen liquefaction facility, leveraging the cold energy from liquefied natural gas (LNG). This new route utilizes four hybrid refrigeration systems, each designed to handle 50 × 103 kg daily. Significant energy savings are achievable through the primary utilization of LNG’s energy in the precooling stage and the generation of electrical power during the vaporization phase. The architecture of this novel route is crafted around the principles of energy conservation, incorporating thermodynamic assessments alongside economic and environmental viability studies. Furthermore, the performance of this innovative hydrogen liquefaction method is thoroughly evaluated across both non-optimized and optimized scenarios. Advanced techniques such as composite curve and uncertainty analyses are employed to provide a detailed examination of heat cascades and cost differentials. The findings indicate that managing LNG’s cold energy is crucial for refining the hydrogen liquefaction route, potentially reducing the specific power requirement of the optimum route by 27.4% compared to its non-optimum counterpart. Moreover, in the optimized scenario, there is a decrease of ~4.72% in unit production expenses, 26.26% in CO2 emissions, and 21.85% in specific power usage for avoided CO2 emissions.

Impact of coconut husk microcrystalline cellulose on the properties of geopolymer lightweight concrete

Geopolymer composite is an alternative to ordinary Portland cement. It has potential to avoid CO2 emissions to the atmosphere and to save raw materials during its manufacture. Flyash-based geopolymer concrete is altered by adding ground granulated bast-furnace slag (GGBS) to improve its fresh and hardened properties. Thermal ash aggregate is used as coarse aggregate to reduce geopolymer concrete density, improve strength, and conserve natural aggregate. Along with this matrix, coconut husk microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) is added to enhance its performance. In a M40 grade flyash and GGBS-based geopolymer concrete, MCC was used to replace fly ash at 1% to 5% levels. The geopolymer composites were tested for slump, compression, split tensile, water absorption, and acid resistance to determine the way coconut husk MCC interacts with lightweight concrete. An inclusion of 3% MCC with geopolymer composites improved 2% slump, 6% of compressive and split tensile strength. About 1.6% of water absorption was reduced in GPC matrix with 3% of MCC. Meanwhile 3% of MCC in geopolymer concrete improved, 4% of weight and 7% of strength under acid exposure. The research strongly supported utilizing MCC in geopolymer concrete to render it more sustainable and eco-friendlier.

Environmental impacts of carbon capture, transport, and storage supply chains: Status and the way forward

Carbon capture, transport, and storage (CCTS) enables the decarbonization of industrial emitters. CCTS is regarded as crucial in reaching net-zero emission targets but currently stands far behind the required scale. CCTS deployment for point sources may be accelerated by CCTS chains relying on currently available technology, called pioneering supply chains. In particular, transporting CO2 in standard containers can be implemented without new transport infrastructure. Pioneering CCTS chains must not cause more emissions than they store to successfully avoid CO2 emissions. Using life cycle assessment, we show that pioneering CCTS chains emit less CO2 than they store permanently, demonstrating that CCTS can already today avoid 50 to 70% of point source GHG emissions. This evidence proves robust against uncertainties based on the scarce operational experience in CCTS. Our environmental assessment shows that increasing the capture rate above the assumed 90% is a main lever to increase emissions avoidance of the CCTS chains above 80%. Capturing and transporting the CO2 causes large shares of the chain’s global warming impact as they rely on fossil fuels. Reducing GHG emission intensity of energy supply and switching to pipeline-based transport can reduce global warming and other environmental impacts compared to pioneering CCTS chains. Our analysis shows that pioneering chains can accelerate infrastructure scale-up while successfully storing CO2 from point sources.

Synergy scenario for renewable energy production, CO2 and H2 storage in the Baltic offshore structure

CO2 Capture, Transport, Use and Storage (CCUS) is one of the core technologies to mitigate climate change. New techno-economic and techno-ecological concept of a synergy of CO2 geological storage (CGS), CO2 use, hydrogen (H2) production from different eco-friendly renewable energy recovery technologies and underground H2 storage (UHS), which we call here Geological Power Bank (Geo-PB), in Cambrian Deimena Formation sandstones in different compartments of the E6 structure offshore Latvia is presented for the first time. A five-phase circular economy concept of E6 geological structure energy and CO2 storage hub was developed in this study. The workflow is techno-ecological, eco-friendly, self-supporting, cost-competitive, and economically feasible. It consists of (1) CO2 transport by ships to the rig, (2) CO2 injection for CGS and CO2 Plume Geothermal technology (CPG), (3) H2 production, (4) Geo-PB, and (5) H2 transport by the same ships to the customers. The concept is supporting a win8 situation - innovative elements of techno-ecological synergy in one site: (1) CGS, (2) CPG, (3) solar energy, (4) wind energy, (5) sea currents energy, (6) H2 production (7) Geo-PB and (8) H2 transport to consumers. The proposed cycle is closed, demonstrating the principles of circular economy, which will increase the total efficiency of the concept. CGS and CPG are planned in the E6-A compartment of the E6 geological structure with an average CO2 storage capacity of 365 Mt in an optimistic approach and Geo-PB is planned in E6-B with an H2 storage capacity of 119 kt.The Baltic offshore scenario is ambitious and innovative, proposed new technologies, synergy with renewable energy (geothermal, solar, wind and sea current), large storage capacity, including CO2 storage and use captured by a CCUS clusters of emission sources from energy production, cement industry and bio-emissions from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The concept aimed to decrease the artificial impact of climate change by avoiding CO2 emissions to the atmosphere and implementing circular economy principles. It will increase public and policymakers’ acceptance of new underground CO2 and energy storage technologies. The proposed synergy solution for CGS and energy storage projects will make such a business economically feasible and attractive for investors. Our study demonstrates a new era, the next generation of cost-competitive, self-supporting conceptual techno-ecological examples of a possible synergy of storage concepts with renewable energies combined using circular economy approaches.

Merging cross-border flow optimization techniques for performance maximization.

Both FARCROSS and TRINITY EU research projects aim to increase cross-border electricity flow and regional cooperation. The integration of SmartValve and T-SENTINEL systems offers benefits such as enhancing grid security and reliability, managing thermal constraints, and maximizing utilization of existing infrastructure. The combined system can achieve a more efficient and less costly coordinated network security process, increase cross-border capacities, and promote regional electricity market integration, benefiting the local communities with significant CO2 emissions avoidance and reduced electricity prices. Overall, the integration of SmartValve and T-SENTINEL can provide significant improvements in flexibility, making cross-border connections more robust and adaptive to the evolution of the electrical power industry.