- According to the IEA, synthetic fuels are vital in the decarbonization of transport and industry by 2050.
- Synthetic fuels can be blended in fossil fuels or can completely replace them in existing ships, airplanes or industrial technologies.
- Nuclear power could help to bring down the production costs of synthetic fuels.
Back in February, a proposal by the EU to completely ban cars that run on fossil fuels by 2035 faced heavy opposition led by the bloc’s largest economy, Germany, as well as Poland and Italy. Although a strong clean energy player itself, Germany is also Europe’s ICE superpower, and feared that such a dramatic move could sound a death knell for its pivotal industry.
Decarbonizing Transport
The EU still managed to approve the proposal, but with a key concession: the sale of internal combustion vehicles would be allowed to continue after the 2035 ban only if they run on e-fuels. According to the IEA, synthetic fuels are vital in the decarbonization of transport and industry by 2050 especially in hard-to-electrify sectors such as aviation. Not to be confused with biofuels, or fuels produced from crops like sugar cane, corn, algae, soybeans, e-fuels or synthetic fuels are liquid fuels produced from natural gas, coal, peat, and oil shale, and include synthetic diesel, synthetic kerosene and e-methanol. Carbon-neutral synthetic fuels are manufactured in two ways.
The first method uses captured carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide from the atmosphere or an industrial process such as steelmaking, and combines it with hydrogen obtained from water via electrolysis to make efuels in a process known as Fischer–Tropsch. The second category encompasses synthetic biofuels created from biomass that is gasified before being catalyzed with hydrogen using chemical means or through thermal processes. Synthetic fuels’ biggest draw is that unlike fossil fuels, the C02 they release into the atmosphere when burned in an engine is virtually equal to the amount taken out of the atmosphere to produce the fuel thus making them CO2-neutral overall. To sweeten the deal, ICE vehicles do not require any modifications to run on e-fuels, which can also be transported via existing fossil fuel logistics networks.
Nuclear Diesel
Using nuclear energy to produce chemicals and liquid fuels is an idea that has long been mooted. Indeed, nuclear energy is strongly oriented towards processes that require high temperatures at affordable prices such as synthetic fuel production and coal gasification. High temperatures increase power generation efficiency of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (∼50%) and open the possibility to use HTGRs for the process operations. Unfortunately, it’s really hard to deploy nuclear power at a fast enough clip to achieve our climate goals thanks to the harsh reality of nuclear power projects. Consider that it not only takes an average of eight years to build a nuclear power plant, but also the mean time between the decision and the commissioning typically ranges from 10 to 19 years.
SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors with power capacities that range from 50-300 MW(e) per unit, compared to 700+ MW(e) per unit for traditional nuclear power reactors. Their biggest attributes are:
- Modular – this makes it possible for SMR systems and components to be factory-assembled and transported as a unit to a location for installation.
- Small – SMRs are physically a fraction of the size of a conventional nuclear power reactor.
Given their smaller footprint, SMRs can be sited on locations not suitable for larger nuclear power plants, such as retired coal plants. Prefabricated SMR units can be manufactured, shipped and then installed on site, making them more affordable to build than large power reactors. Dr. Robert Hargraves, co-founder of ThorCon International, a nuclear engineering company, has proposed the development of ‘nuclear diesel’, dubbing it a game-changer in the clean energy transition. According to the nuclear expert: ‘‘Advanced nuclear source energy costs can be 3.5 cents/kWh for electricity or 2 cents/kWh for high-temperature heat. This raw, source energy input cost to manufacture nuclear diesel is less than $1 per gallon…”
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Source: Oilprice
