2050 could use climate-neutral fuels, fuels and raw materials with 43. 200 Terawatt hours 28 Percentage of global energy demand cover. This is the result of the Finnish LUT University Lappeenranta and Lahti on behalf of the interest group Global Alliance Powerfuels (GAP) in a transformation scenario. She advocates that more money is invested in energy sources called “power fuels” such as hydrogen, e-kerosene, e-diesel or ammonia.

The Finnish researchers estimate the size of the global market for powerfuels for the year 2050 at 2.1 billion euros. In order for it to be established, investments of up to 15 trillion euros could be triggered, a large part of which in the construction of wind and solar systems , emerges from the study “Powerfuels in a Renewable Energy World”. That corresponds roughly to the currently forecast investment needs of the oil and gas industry in the same period.

Sectors that are difficult to electrify From the forecast 43. 200 Terawatt hours were accounted for by the transport sector 23. 000 Terawatt hours, 15. 500 Terawatt hours on the chemical industry and on the heating sector 5000 terawatt hours. The authors of the study assume that powerfuels are particularly needed in sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as aviation and shipping, and also as a replacement for process raw materials currently obtained from fossil resources.

The transformation scenario is based on the fact that 2050 Energy is generated entirely from renewable sources, as envisaged by the goals of the Paris Agreement against Climate Change. For a CO 2 – neutral production of power fuels it is necessary that money is also invested in the direct air separation of CO 2 will be invested, explains GAP spokesman Andreas Kuhlmann.

The GAP was 2018 founded on the initiative of the German Energy Agency (DENA) as an association of companies and scientific institutions. Its members include Lufthansa, ExxonMobile, Schaeffler, Shell, Uniper, Audi and BP. The federally owned DENA, based in Berlin, sees itself as a competence center for energy efficiency.

(anw)