24.05.2024
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
Methanol from renewable energy sources could make a major contribution to the decarbonization of shipping and the chemical industry if the framework is right, according to Ikem.
A recent study by the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (Ikem) has examined the legal framework for sustainably produced methanol. The researchers looked at the entire cycle, from production to classification under hazardous substances legislation, certification and eligibility for greenhouse gas reduction quotas, through to end use as a fuel in heavy goods transport.
According to their assessment, green methanol has great potential for reducing emissions in transport and in the chemical industry. It could therefore be a key to the successful energy transition across all sectors. The study concludes that a coherent legal framework and clarity in the certification of the various production paths are prerequisites for a successful market ramp-up of methanol.
In the transport sector, a decisive factor for the use of methanol is its eligibility for the renewable energy quota set by the European Union. This was also extended to aviation and shipping in the last revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).
Mariana Moreno Kuhnke, Head of the Energy Law Department at Ikem, explained the national design of RED III: "The future design of the German greenhouse gas reduction quota should reflect to a greater extent the desirable focus of the use of renewable fuels of non-biogenic origin (RFNBO) on shipping and aviation as well as their use in the chemical industry in terms of climate policy." This is where methanol can really come into its own.
Ensuring certification
The sustainability of methanol depends largely on the energy used in its production and the carbon source used. For example, sustainably produced biomass or CO2 waste gas from other processes can be used (carbon capture and utilization, CCU), which reduces emissions. The various processes need to be defined more clearly to ensure that they can be counted towards greenhouse gas reduction quotas with legal certainty, explained study author Johannes Graetschel: "However, for the use of methanol to contribute effectively to combating climate change, the carbon source used must also be better recorded as a next step."
The European Delegated Acts on synthetic fuels and their national implementation in the 37th Federal Immission Control Ordinance have laid important foundations for the certification of sustainable methanol. The legislator must now avoid a fossil lock-in and incentivize climate-positive processes to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the study demands. It was produced as part of the "biogeniV" project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
The 91-page study "Legal issues in the production of green methanol" can be downloaded from the Ikem website.
Author: Susanne Harmsen
Accessibility
Language
