Case

Liquid electricity could provide a green way forward for heavy transport

Heavy transport (ships, lorries, trains and aircraft) accounts for more than half of CO2 emissions from the transport sector. Power2X technology can do something about this. In the EUDP project Power2Met, researchers from Aalborg University, in collaboration with industry, have built a complete industrial-scale electricity-to-methanol plant.

Case

Liquid electricity could provide a green way forward for heavy transport

The plant makes eMethanol from CO2 and hydrogen produced using renewable electricity. The methanol could be used as a green fuel in ships and lorries where battery-powered engines are not an option.

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The technology allows us to make heavy transport greener. Partly because it is based on renewable energy, and partly because it can be connected to biogas plants, for example, and use CO2 that would otherwise be discharged into the atmosphere.

Søren Knudsen Kær, professor at the Department of Energy Technology

The technology is also attractive because existing infrastructure and distribution systems can be reused and because the fuel can be used in heavy transport by making known changes to vehicle fleets. Finally, the technology also makes it possible to store green energy.

By establishing the plant, which is the first of its kind in Denmark, the partners behind the project have demonstrated that the technology is ready for full-scale deployment. The first industrial plant is already in the pipeline and will be able to produce liquid electricity on a scale equivalent to removing 7,000 cars from the roads.

The partners involved in the project are Aalborg University, Green Hydrogen Systems, REintegrate, Hydrogen Valley, E.ON Danmark A/S, NGF Nature Energy, Drivkraft Danmark, Rockwool, Process Engineering, Holtec Automatic-Nord, and Lillegaarden EL.

The project is being funded by the Danish Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP).