Climate Change and Renewable Energies

Climate change resulting from human activities and its consequences present some of the biggest challenges for future generations.[1] Not only does climate change contribute to desertification,[2] it has also a considerable effect on ecosystems and biodiversity[3] as well as human health.[4] While climate always fluctuated in the long term, a considerable increase in average global surface temperatures has been observed over the last decades.

Global surface temperature development in the past
Global surface temperature development in the past
Temperature analysis from two models with different reference time frames, own elaboration.[5]

In view of the huge potential consequences of the climate change of global warming, international organizations such as the UN, the EU, and others, as well as countries all over the world reacted by establishing and enacting binding frameworks to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.[6] One of the transition fuels considered to facilitate the extension of renewable energy and reduction of direct carbon dioxide emissions is natural gas.[7] Still, the current conflict in Ukraine has put enormous strain on Western European natural gas supply from Russia and energy-intensive industries relying on this energy source.[8] Substitution of natural gas seems therefore imperative where possible, preferably by energy from renewable sources. The industrial sector and especially the energy-intensive process industries are an integral part of reaching these climate and natural gas substitution targets.[9] Many of their processes use fossil fuels for heating purposes on a grand scale, which makes decarbonization particularly difficult.[10] An overview of the energy demand for the European chemical industry and its development in relation to production is given in the following figure:

Energy demand and energy intensity of the European chemical industry (EU27 countries)
Energy demand and energy intensity of the European chemical industry
Based on illustration from Cefic, own elaboration.[11]

In view of the enormous task ahead, the challenges presented to the chemical industry by the transition to renewable energy and raw material sources have been investigated from numerous perspectives.[12] The current heavy usage of natural gas and other fossil fuels for the generation of process heat and other purposes[13] implies major alterations for the future and the necessity for disruptive innovation.[14] To implement renewable energy sourcing the chemical industry focuses on three different approaches: process improvements for increased variability, higher energy efficiency, and storage solutions.[15] A first incremental step in adapting the chemical industry to fluctuating renewable energy supply is the exploitation of flexibility potential in processes, a topic already addressed by numerous investigations.[16] Still, many present large-scale fundamental processes do not have the right characteristics for operational flexibility, requiring a constant energy and feed-stock supply to run efficiently.[17] Energy efficiency has been at the core of industrial chemical development for decades, [18] probably leaving limited mid-term optimization potential with conventional approaches.
Despite these challenges, high inflation rates,[19] and a bleak economic perspective,[20], politicians are not only set on diversifying natural gas supply but also on considerably reducing dependency on natural gas as energy source.[21] While the extension of renewable energies seems imperative from this point of view, obligatory planning procedures for infrastructure on land have taken at least a decade in the past.[22]

Past research studies mainly focused on the transformation of the electrical grid related to the increased usage of renewable energies,[23] the related technical problems,[24] and market design[25] or macroeconomic setup.[26] Still, the practical feasibility and requirements of energy transformation in the energy-intensive process industries still presents somewhat a mystery to be figured out while proceeding.[27] Various studies addressed technical improvements to ease the transition such as increased flexibility[28] or electrification of certain chemical processes,[29] sometimes even including calculation of the required energy storage capacities.[30] Other studies are limited to calculating the overall energy demand without considering the fluctuations in renewable power supply.[31] While these are all necessary prerequisites for natural gas substitution or decarbonization of the energy supply, there is a considerable knowledge gap on practicability and temporal alignment of the transition to policy directives in energy-intensive industries. This gap needs to be addressed by academic research as well as the chemical industry in a timely manner to ensure survival of the industry in a highly regulated environment.

Footnotes

  1. Dietz, T., Shwom, R. L., & Whitley, C. T. (2020). Climate Change and Society. Annual Review of Sociology, 46, 135–158. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-121919-054614.
    Kotcher, J., Maibach, E., Miller, J., Campbell, E., Alqodmani, L., Maiero, M., & Wyns, A. (2021). Views of health professionals on climate change and health: a multinational survey study. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5, e316–e323. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00053-X.
  2. See https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/desertification for an overview.
  3. Weiskopf, S. R., Rubenstein, M. A., Crozier, L. G., Gaichas, S., Griffis, R., Halofsky, J. E., Hyde, K. J. W., Morelli, T. L., Morisette, J. T., Muñoz, R. C., Pershing, A. J., Peterson, D. L., Poudel, R., Staudinger, M. D., Sutton-Grier, A. E., Thompson, L., Vose, J., Weltzin, J. F., & Whyte, K. P. (2020). Climate change effects on biodiversity, ecosystems, ecosystem services, and natural resource management in the United States. Science of the Total Environment, 733, 137782. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137782.
  4. Rocque, R. J., Beaudoin, C., Ndjaboue, R., Cameron, L., Poirier-Bergeron, L., Poulin-Rheault, R.-A., Fallon, C., Tricco, A. C., & Witteman, H. O. (2021). Health effects of climate change: an overview of systematic reviews. BMJ Open, 11, Article 6. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-046333.
  5. Data sources: HadCRUT5 Analysis, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia, see https://crudata.uea.ac.uk/cru/data/temperature/.
    GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP v4), Goddard Institute for Space studies, NASA, see https://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/.
  6. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. (2021). Regulation (EU) 2021/1119. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32021R1119.
    United Nations (1992). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. https://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/background_publications_htmlpdf/application/pdf/conveng.pdf.
    United Nations (1997). Kyoto Protocol on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf.
    United Nations (2015). Paris Agreement. In Paris Climate Change Conference – November 2015. United Nations. https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/2016/02/20160215 06-03 PM/Ch_XXVII-7-d.pdf.
  7. Safari, A., Das, N., Langhelle, O., Roy, J., & Assadi, M. (2019). Natural gas: A transition fuel for sustainable energy system transformation? Energy Science & Engineering, 7, 1075–1094. https://doi.org/10.1002/ese3.380.
    Zeniewski, P., McGlade, C., Kim, T.-Y., & Gould, T. (2019). The Role of Gas in Today’s Energy Transitions. International Energy Agency. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-gas-in-todays-energy-transitions.
    Gürsan, C., & de Gooyert, V. (2021). The systemic impact of a transition fuel: Does natural gas help or hinder the energy transition? Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 138, 110552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110552.
    Scharf, H., Arnold, F., & Lencz, D. (2021). Future natural gas consumption in the context of decarbonization – A meta-analysis of scenarios modeling the German energy system. Energy Strategy Reviews, 33, 100591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2020.100591
  8. Liadze, I., Macchiarelli, C., Mortimer-Lee, P., & Juanino, P.S. (2022). The Economic Costs of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict; NIESR Policy Paper 32; National Institute of Economic and Social Research: London, UK.
    Mbah, R.E., & Wasum, F. (2022). Russian-Ukraine 2022 War: A Review of the Economic Impact of Russian-Ukraine Crisis on the USA, UK, Canada, and Europe. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9, 144–153. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.93.12005
  9. Gürsan, C., & de Gooyert, V. (2021). The systemic impact of a transition fuel: Does natural gas help or hinder the energy transition? Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 138, 110552. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110552
  10. Pisciotta, M., Pilorgé, H., Feldmann, J., Jacobson, R., Davids, J., Swett, S., Sasso, Z., & Wilcox, J. (2022). Current state of industrial heating and opportunities for decarbonization. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 91, 100982. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pecs.2021.100982
  11. Cefic: https://cefic.org/a-pillar-of-the-european-economy/facts-and-figures-of-the-european-chemical-industry/energy-consumption/
    Data sources: Eurostat, databases nrg_bal_c and sts_inpr_a available at https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser
  12. Wesseling, J.H., Lechtenböhmer, S., Åhman, M., Nilsson, L.J., Worrell, E., & Coenen, L. (2017). The transition of energy intensive processing industries towards deep decarbonization: Characteristics and implications for future research. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 79, 1303–1313. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.156
  13. Griffin, P.W., Hammond, G.P., & Norman, J.B. (2018). Industrial energy use and carbon emissions reduction in the chemicals sector: A UK perspective. Applied Energy, 227, 587–602. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.08.010
  14. George, S. (2020). IEA: Most Technologies Needed to Achieve Net-Zero Aren’t Yet Mature. EURACTIV. Available online: https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/iea-most-technologies-needed-to-achieve-net-zero-arent-yet-mature
  15. Tronchin, L., Manfren, M., & Nastasi, B. (2018). Energy efficiency, demand side management and energy storage technologies—A critical analysis of possible paths of integration in the built environment. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 95, 341–353. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.06.060
    Oskouei, M.Z., Şeker, A.A., Tunçel, S., Demirbaş, E., Gözel, T., Hocaoğlu, M.H., Abapour, M., & Mohammadi-Ivatloo, B. (2022). A Critical Review on the Impacts of Energy Storage Systems and Demand-Side Management Strategies in the Economic Operation of Renewable-Based Distribution Network. Sustainability, 14, 2110. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14042110
  16. Bruns, B., Herrmann, F., Polyakova, M., Grünewald, M., & Riese, J. (2020). A systematic approach to define flexibility in chemical engineering. Journal of Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, 2, e10063. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/amp2.10063
    Heffron, R., Körner, M.F., Wagner, J., Weibelzahl, M., & Fridgen, G. (2020). Industrial demand-side flexibility: A key element of a just energy transition and industrial development. Applied Energy, 269, 115026. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115026
    Pierri, E., Schulze, C., Herrmann, C., & Thiede, S. (2020). Integrated methodology to assess the energy flexibility potential in the process industry. Procedia CIRP, 90, 677–682. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.01.124
    Luo, J., Moncada, J., & Ramirez, A. (2022). Development of a Conceptual Framework for Evaluating the Flexibility of Future Chemical Processes. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 61, 3219–3232. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.1c03874
  17. Edmonds, L., Pfromm, P., Amanor-Boadu, V., Hill, M., & Wu, H. (2022). Green ammonia production-enabled demand flexibility in agricultural community microgrids with distributed renewables. Sustainable Energy, Grids and Networks, 31, 100736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.segan.2022.100736.
    Geels, F.W. (2022) Conflicts between economic and low-carbon reorientation processes: Insights from a contextual analysis of evolving company strategies in the United Kingdom petrochemical industry (1970–2021). Energy Research & Social Science, 91, 102729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102729.
  18. Vooradi, R., Anne, S.B., Tula, A.K., Eden, M.R., & Gani, R. (2019). Energy and CO2 management for chemical and related industries: issues, opportunities and challenges. BMC Chemical Engineering, 1, 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s42480-019-0008-6
  19. Arnold, M. (2022). Eurozone inflation hits record 8.6% in June. Financial Times, 1 July 2022.
  20. Tamma, P. (2022). EU Leaders Agree the Economic Outlook Is Bleak, but Split over the Remedies. POLITICO. Available online: https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-leaders-charles-michel-ursula-von-der-leyen-emmanuel-macron-economic-outlook-eu-council-summit/.
  21. The European Commision (2022). REPowerEU Plan. SWD(2022) 230 Final. Available online: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2022%3A230%3AFIN&qid=1653033742483
  22. Sözüer, M., & Spang, K. (2014). The Importance of Project Management in the Planning Process of Transport Infrastructure Projects in Germany. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 119, 601–610. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.067
  23. Sinn, H.W. (2017). Buffering volatility: A study on the limits of Germany’s energy revolution. European Economic Review, 99, 130–150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.euroecorev.2017.05.007
  24. Muttaqi, K.M., Islam, M.R., & Sutanto, D. (2019). Future Power Distribution Grids: Integration of Renewable Energy, Energy Storage, Electric Vehicles, Superconductor, and Magnetic Bus. IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 29, 3800305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2019.2895528
  25. Parag, Y., & Sovacool, B.K. (2016). Electricity market design for the prosumer era. Nature Energy, 1, 16032. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nenergy.2016.32
    Newbery, D., Pollitt, M.G., Ritz, R.A., & Strielkowski, W. (2018). Market design for a high-renewables European electricity system. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 91, 695–707. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2018.04.025
  26. Seck, G.S., Hache, E., Sabathier, J., Guedes, F., Reigstad, G.A., Straus, J.; Wolfgang, O., Ouassou, J.A., Askeland, M., Hjorth, I., et al. (2022) Hydrogen and the decarbonization of the energy system in Europe in 2050: A detailed model-based analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 167, 112779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112779
  27. Riedel, N. H., & Špaček, M. (2022). Challenges of Renewable Energy Sourcing in the Process Industries: The Example of the German Chemical Industry. Sustainability, 14(20), Article 13520. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013520.
  28. Pierri, E., Schulze, C., Herrmann, C., & Thiede, S. (2020). Integrated methodology to assess the energy flexibility potential in the process industry. Procedia CIRP, 90, 677–682. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.01.124.
    Lahrsen, I.M., Hofmann, M., & Müller, R. (2022). Flexibility of Epichlorohydrin Production—Increasing Profitability by Demand Response for Electricity and Balancing Market. Processes, 10, 761. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pr10040761
  29. Ahrens, F.,  Land, J., & Krumdieck, S. (2022). Decarbonization of Nitrogen Fertilizer: A Transition Engineering Desk Study for Agriculture in Germany. Sustainability, 14, 8564. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14148564
    Xia, R., Overa, S., & Jiao, F. (2022). Emerging Electrochemical Processes to Decarbonize the Chemical Industry. JACS Au, 2, 1054–1070. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.2c00138
  30. Ahrens, F., Land, J., & Krumdieck, S. (2022). Decarbonization of Nitrogen Fertilizer: A Transition Engineering Desk Study for Agriculture in Germany. Sustainability, 14, 8564. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14148564
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    Schmidt, A., Köster, D., Strube, J. (2022). Climate Neutrality Concepts for the German Chemical & Pharmaceutical Industry. Processes, 10, 467. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pr10030467