Sustainable Energy Futures Conference 2010

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2 All forms of alternative fuels will be needed: no silver bullet Biodiesel Pyrolysis Hydrogen Conventional Oil Coal Biomethane Ethanol Natural gas Miscanthus Methanol 2

3 Sustainable Energy Futures Conference 2010 Challenges that fuels face Security of supply Technology Challenges Peak Oil Climate change Cost 3

4 Carbon reduction targets UK Climate Change Act 2008: 80% reduction GHGs by % reduction target 4

5 Fossil fuels dominate global energy production Fossil fuel use will continue, but the share of alternatives will increase 2008 Global energy use (from REN21) 5

6 Some sustainable fuels opportunities across various sectors were explored by our group at Imperial Sector Technologies - Goals Oil industry Algae biofuel industry Pulp and paper industry Bioenergy sector Oil methanogenesis: Bacterial transformation of oil into gas Transesterification: Production of biodiesel and biomethanol Black liquor gasification: Production of motor fuels and electricity Promoting innovation: Improve producer and end-user relationships 6

7 Methanogenesis Nutrient injection Oil Reservoir Gas production Microbial transformation of oil into gas Is oil methanogenesis economically viable in mature reservoirs? Proof of concept validated under laboratory conditions Positive financial returns only with high natural gas prices (>10 $/MMBtu) Long incubation periods strongly penalized A few startups targeting coal: Luca Technologies, Ciris Energy, Profero Energy 7

8 Algae What is Algae? Autotrophic organisms Water based plants Fuels produced Biodiesel Methane Hydrogen Methanol Bioethanol Industry investments Exxon Mobil $600m (2009) BP $10m (2009) 8

9 Algae Benefits High productivity & blending potential Carbon mitigation potential Avoids land use issue (¾ of Earth s =oceans) Risks and Problems Immature Technology; Capital intensive projects; Price competitive issue; Effect on ecosystems unknown (Genetically modified algae) Cost of production Source: Solix 9

10 Sustainable Energy Futures Conference 2010 Black liquor Wood Pulp mill Pulp Paper mill Paper Black liquor The chemical pulping process breaks down wood to produce pulp. Spent chemicals recovered from the process are called black liquor. Currently burnt in boilers to produce steam to run the equipment. CorrosionCost.com 10

11 Black liquor: a growing interest for black liquor gasification Possible products Electricity Methanol Dimethyl Ether Diesel Potentials Worldwide black liquor potential: ~ 2.4x10 9 GJ/year European methanol production: Automotive fuel participation: U.S. methanol potential: 11 million tonnes 0.2x10 9 GJ/year ~50% Finland, 30% Sweden 28 million tonnes of methanol 2.5% petrol and diesel consumption Benefits Possible use of a more efficient chemical pulping process wood savings Efficient electricity generation Issues Capital intensive : ~ 300m (Eqt. & Assembly costs for fuel synthesis - large mills) Increased operational costs Production of high value fuels Some technologies are not commercial yet 11

12 Bioenergy and innovation Bioenergy is important in many forms of energy use: Transport fuels Electricity generation Gas generation Heat generation Bioenergy contributed 80.7% of primary renewable energy in the UK in Bioenergy has the potential to contribute TWh/yr of final UK energy demand 12

13 Bioenergy and innovation Innovation is a dynamic process involving many actors There is a severe shortage of qualified people in the area Current organisations are not set up to promote radical innovation The Renewable Heat Incentive will help to improve bioenergy demand 13

14 Example of policies Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation RTFO 1.6 billion litres of biofuels % of UK s total fuel volume European Union Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System EU ETS 11.6% annual decrease in GHG emissions from EU ETS participants in 2009 U.S. Department Of Energy - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Billions of dollar grants per year available 19 integrated biorefinery projects - $564 million INEOS New Planet BioEnergy Joint Venture received a $50 million grant 3 rd generation bioethanol and renewable power Sapphire Energy in San Diego, California: $54.5 million loan guarantee demonstration of an integrated algal biorefinery process 14

15 There is no single solution! 15

16 Thank you for your attention! Merci beaucoup! Muchas gracias! Σας ευχαριστούµε πολύ!! 16

17 Further information Poster number Name Project Title 13 Driss Mrani 14 Stephanie Hoarau 15 Patrick McMullen High Temperature Electrolysis: techno-economic of H2 production and case study for Morocco Cost benefit analysis of black liquor gasification - Factors influencing profitability The Role of Market Actors in the Field of Bioenergy in the UK 16 Santiago Morales Oil methanogenesis: techno-economic analysis 17 Vassilis Paschopoulos Indirect Land Use Change Factors: Calculation Methodologies 18 Pedro Santiago 19 Dongxu Xu Biofuel's Capacity to Displace Fossil Fuels in Transport Carbon Abatement potential of Algae Derived Fuels 17

18 REFERENCES BP (2010) Statistical Review of World Energy. DECC (2010) Digest of UK Energy Sources. Dukes Sorrell, S., Speirs, J., Bentley, R., Brandt A. & Miller, R. (2009) Global Oil Depletion: An assessment of the evidence for a near-term peak in global oil production. UKERC. Goodall N. (2010) RTFO: year two (provisional data) Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, Annual Conference. EUROPA (2010) Emissions trading: EU ETS emissions fall more than 11% in 2009 Ekbom, T., Berglin, N. & Lögdberg, S. (2005) Black Liquor Gasification with Motor Fuel Production BLGMF II. Swedish Energy Agency. Stockholm, Sweden U.S. Department of Energy (2009) Secretaries Chu and Vilsack Announce More Than $600 Million Investment in Advanced Biorefinery Projects. [Online] Available from: [Accessed September 2010] DECC (2010) UK CLIMATE CHANGE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATOR: 2008 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, FINAL FIGURES. Statistical Release. 18