Can Liquid Air be part of the solution in Germany?

Transcription

1 Can Liquid Air be part of the solution in Germany? Royal Academy of Engineering, 9 May 2013 Tim Evison, SVP, Messer Group GmbH Messer 1-05/13

2 Messer Group GmbH Messer Group GmbH Specialist for Industrial Gases Specialist for Industrial Gases Company: the largest owner-managed industrial gas company in the world. Products: oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, helium, specialty gases, medical gases, Customers: all industrial sectors benefit from Messer s products and application technologies. Profits are important to us, but they re not the be-all and end-all. It is just as important to be independent and to turn our own ideas into reality. Stefan Messer, CEO and owner of the Messer Group Messer 2-05/13

3 Messer Group GmbH Messer Group GmbH Products and Applications From raw materials to their applications Air separation unit Products Sales Customer Segments Automobile Oxygen 21% Argon / Specialty gases 1% Others 12% Pipeline / on-site 28% Construction industry Industry, production and manufacturing Foods and beverages Metallurgy / steel and iron / glass and ceramics Nitrogen 78% Cylinders 26% Bulk 34% Medicine and pharmaceutic Welding and cutting Other products: CO 2, Helium, Hydrogen, Acetylene, Propane Environment Messer 3-05/13

4 Messer Group GmbH Messer Group GmbH Locations Air separation and liquefaction units Estonia Latvia Denmark Russia Lithuania Netherlands Poland Belgium Germany Ukraine Czech Republic Austria Slovakia Hungary Romania France Slovenia Switzerland Italy Croatia Bosnia- Herzegovina Serbia Bulgaria Portugal Spain Montenegro Macedonia Albania Turkey Messer 4-05/13

5 Messer Group GmbH Messer Group GmbH Key Figures Key Figures > 53 Air separation plants > 99 per cent availability > 30 years asset lifetime > 3 TWh power requirements > 115 years experience > active customers Sales in m ,029 1,088 EBITDA in Mio. Euro EBITDA margin in % Investments* in Mio. Euro Employees** 4,696 5,211 5,288 5,251 5,364 * incl. IFRIC4 ** contractual employments Messer 5-05/13

6 So, what is the problem? So, what is the problem? Energy Plan The German energy plan is based on high levels of renewables, energy efficiency and imports/exports Germany has hastened its early exit from nuclear Import/export transmission is limited, all European states are building renewables capacity and production may often be synchronous across borders The target for renewables is the highest in Europe The energy efficiency goals are very demanding Ma0hias Kurth, President of the Federal Network Agency Messer 6-05/13

7 So, what is the problem? So, what is the problem? Need for Storage Demand-side management: controlling the use of electricity according to the needs of the grid Electricity produced.. from fossil fuels Electricity demand (households, industrial) Balance Electrical Network Synergies: putting storage into households e.g. Developing technologies: Compressed air, Liquid air, Batteries, Flywheels, etc... and from renewables and industry e.g. Pumped-Hydro Storage Electricity Storage Power to Gas Messer 7-05/13

8 So, what is the problem? So, what is the problem? Need for Storage According to RWE Innogy Germany will require access to ~300x the current storage capacity by 2050 Messer 8-05/13

9 Can Liquid Air Energy Storage be part of the solution in Germany? LAES Symposium 35 participants gathered to discuss the question at Messer s HQ in Bad Soden/Ts. on : The panel saw that LAES would be best suited to secondary and tertiary reserve LAES is a close cousin of compressed air energy storage, but has numerous advantages - There is considerable cryogenic engineering and manufacturing expertise in Germany & elsewhere - There is existing infrastructure for liquefaction which might reduce the cost of early investments - Using a phase change is typically an efficient way to store energy - The energy storage density of liquid air/nitrogen is higher than that of compressed air - There are no geological requirements for liquid air/nitrogen as for cavern based compressed air - Flat-bottomed liquid air/nitrogen storage tanks are cheaper than high pressure vessels There is very limited capacity to build additional pumped-hydro storage capacity in Germany The scale of LAES may be suitable for deployment with municipal utilities ( Stadtwerke ) Current storage economics (e-g- Minutenreserve ) and network rules are not conducive to technology development or commercialisation: liquid air technology may meet the need for longer term storage The panel agreed that liquid air technology is an interesting alternative to pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage. Support for a demonstration project in Germany would surely be forthcoming. Messer 9-05/13

10 Can Liquid Air Energy Storage be part of the solution in Germany? LAES Symposium Yes. A partnership is now required between: - industry - energy sector - universities & government Messer 10-05/13