Nowadays “Decarbonization” is the challenge that policy, economy and industry have to face. Over the past 150 years, global consumption of coal, oil and gas boomed as it fuelled the world’s growing business activity. This success carried a price tag, however, in the form of large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions that increased average global temperatures by 1°C in the last century. On 12nd December 2015, 196 countries that joined the Rio’s conference on climate changes (COP 21) signed a global agreement, the Paris Agreement. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and keep the average global temperature rise well below 2°C the pre-industrial levels. In the energy sector, renewable sources have grown considerably, achieving 39% of share in electricity generation in Italy in 2018. However, the penetration of non-programmable sources has raised problems of managing and balancing the electric grid. Hence, the interest for electric and chemical storage has grown to decouple energy production and consumption. Today hydrogen from excess of electricity is seen as a promising energy vector for the future, both for long-term storage and for alternative “green” fuel source for industry and mobility. This overall concept is called “Power to Gas”. The purpose of this thesis is to asses a technical and economic feasibility of a Power to Gas pilot plant in Italy. Firstly, the Italian regulatory framework about hydrogen is analysed, including market opportunities and challenges of the latest years. All available storage technologies are studied, with a detailed analysis on the Power to Gas sector, which is believed a promising link in the energy transition, providing the possibility of combining and decarbonizing various sectors of the national economy. Hence, hydrogen application opportunities are analysed, with the focus on advantages and disadvantages, coupling with the Italian regulatory framework and availability on the market. The flexibility of coupling hydrogen in many sectors has led to the development of three macro scenarios: - Power to Methane: hydrogen is combined with carbon dioxide to produce biomethane; - Power to Blend: hydrogen is blended with natural gas from the grid to produce electric and thermal energy; - Power to Hydrogen: hydrogen is single-handed as energy vector. These scenarios are then developed in six plant’s layouts, simulating a real operation in 2019 energy market. For each technology a critic review of manufacturers is carried out, highlighting their know-how in the Power to Gas sector and their partnerships in pilot projects in Europe. Finally, a business plan for each project has suggested the most promising scenario from an economic point of view.
“Decarbonizzazione” è l’obiettivo che oggigiorno accompagna ogni scelta politica, economica ed industriale. Negli ultimi 150 anni il consumo mondiale di carbone, petrolio e gas ha guidato la crescita economica, lasciando tuttavia un conto da pagare: enormi quantità di gas serra sono state immesse in atmosfera, alzando la temperatura media mondiale di 1°C nell’ultimo secolo. Il 12 dicembre 2015, i 196 Paesi partecipanti alla Conferenza di Rio sui cambiamenti climatici (COP 21) hanno firmato un patto globale, l’Accordo di Parigi, per ridurre le emissioni di gas serra e mantenere l’aumento medio della temperatura globale ben al di sotto di 2°C rispetto ai livelli preindustriali. Nel settore energetico, l’utilizzo di fonti rinnovabili è notevolmente aumentato, arrivando a coprire il 39% dell’elettricità prodotta nel 2018 in Italia. Tuttavia, con l’aumento di fonti energetiche non programmabili sono sorti problemi nella gestione e nel bilanciamento della rete elettrica nazionale. Da qui è nato l’interesse verso le tecnologie di accumulo elettrico e chimico, necessarie per separare temporalmente produzione e consumo di energia. Particolare attenzione viene oggi posta alla produzione di idrogeno dall’eccesso o sbilanciamento di energia elettrica: l’accumulo energetico a lungo termine oppure l’utilizzo come combustibile alternativo per l’industria e la mobilità rendono il primo elemento della tavola periodica un possibile vettore energetico del futuro. Questo metodo di stoccaggio viene chiamato “Power to Gas”. Obiettivo di questa tesi è l’analisi della fattibilità tecnico-economica di un impianto pilota Power to Gas collocato in Italia. In primo luogo, il contesto normativo italiano circa l’idrogeno è stato analizzato, ponendo attenzione alle opportunità e sfide del mercato negli ultimi anni. Dopo aver analizzato tutte le tecnologie sviluppate per lo stoccaggio di energia, lo studio si è focalizzato sul settore del Power to Gas, il quale ha il vantaggio di poter connettere tra loro e decarbonizzare diversi settori dell’economia nazionale. Vengono poi analizzate le possibili applicazioni dell’idrogeno, focalizzando l’attenzione su vantaggi e svantaggi, idoneità con le normative italiane e disponibilità a livello commerciale. Grazie alle molteplici applicazioni dell’idrogeno, sono stati sviluppati tre macro scenari: - “Power to Methane”: l’idrogeno viene combinato con anidride carbonica per produrre biometano; - “Power to Blend”: l’idrogeno viene miscelato con gas naturale da rete per produrre energia termica ed elettrica; - “Power to Hydrogen”: l’idrogeno viene impiegato come vettore energetico. Questi scenari sono stati poi sviluppati in sei schemi di impianto, simulando un reale funzionamento degli stessi nel mercato energetico del 2019. Per ogni tecnologia sono stati analizzati in modo critico i produttori, ponendo attenzione alla loro esperienza nel settore Power to Gas ed al loro coinvolgimento in progetti pilota europei. Da ultimo, per ogni progetto è stato sviluppato un business plan che ha evidenziato lo scenario più promettente da un punto di vista economico.
Technical and economic feasibility study of a power to gas pilot plant in Italy
BOSELLI, ANNA
2018/2019
Abstract
Nowadays “Decarbonization” is the challenge that policy, economy and industry have to face. Over the past 150 years, global consumption of coal, oil and gas boomed as it fuelled the world’s growing business activity. This success carried a price tag, however, in the form of large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions that increased average global temperatures by 1°C in the last century. On 12nd December 2015, 196 countries that joined the Rio’s conference on climate changes (COP 21) signed a global agreement, the Paris Agreement. The aim is to reduce greenhouse gases emissions and keep the average global temperature rise well below 2°C the pre-industrial levels. In the energy sector, renewable sources have grown considerably, achieving 39% of share in electricity generation in Italy in 2018. However, the penetration of non-programmable sources has raised problems of managing and balancing the electric grid. Hence, the interest for electric and chemical storage has grown to decouple energy production and consumption. Today hydrogen from excess of electricity is seen as a promising energy vector for the future, both for long-term storage and for alternative “green” fuel source for industry and mobility. This overall concept is called “Power to Gas”. The purpose of this thesis is to asses a technical and economic feasibility of a Power to Gas pilot plant in Italy. Firstly, the Italian regulatory framework about hydrogen is analysed, including market opportunities and challenges of the latest years. All available storage technologies are studied, with a detailed analysis on the Power to Gas sector, which is believed a promising link in the energy transition, providing the possibility of combining and decarbonizing various sectors of the national economy. Hence, hydrogen application opportunities are analysed, with the focus on advantages and disadvantages, coupling with the Italian regulatory framework and availability on the market. The flexibility of coupling hydrogen in many sectors has led to the development of three macro scenarios: - Power to Methane: hydrogen is combined with carbon dioxide to produce biomethane; - Power to Blend: hydrogen is blended with natural gas from the grid to produce electric and thermal energy; - Power to Hydrogen: hydrogen is single-handed as energy vector. These scenarios are then developed in six plant’s layouts, simulating a real operation in 2019 energy market. For each technology a critic review of manufacturers is carried out, highlighting their know-how in the Power to Gas sector and their partnerships in pilot projects in Europe. Finally, a business plan for each project has suggested the most promising scenario from an economic point of view.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/151230