Energy: innovative fuels from hydrogen and CO2 in a carbon-neutral production process

Producing innovative fuels to be used in the industrìal, transport and residential sectors, using carbon dioxide and green hydrogen in a  carbon-neutral production process. It’s the objective of the project E-CO₂, co-funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Development and Cohesion Fund, coordinated by the ENEA Laboratory CROSS-TEC[1] in Bologna jointly with the universities of Bologna and Parma, the Energy and the Environment Laboratory of Piacenza, Romagna Tech and the companies of the Hera Group, Siram Veolia, Ecospray Technologies, Tper, Idro Meccanica and Buzzi Unicem.

"In addition to producing carbon neutral fuels such as synthetic methane and dimethyl ether, the CO2 sequestered from the atmosphere would also make it possible to render the energy and ecology cycle of the industries emitting the most carbon, more efficient", explained Giuseppe Nigliaccio, researcher at the ENEA Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources Department and coordinator of the project.

"The synthetic methane produced from CO₂ and green hydrogen could be fed into the natural gas network and employed in the transport, industrial and residential sectors. The possibility of using the large gas network present in our country as energy storage system is the great potential for use of this technology, favouring at the same time a greater penetration of renewable electricity sources through the interaction between the electricity and gas distribution networks, the so-called sector coupling ", Nigliaccio said.

In addition to gaseous fuels like methane, the project studies the creation of fuels made out by synthetic methane and biomethane liquefaction or liquid fuels using hydrogen and CO₂,  such as dimethyl ether (DME).

These fuels are particularly interesting for applications in maritime or long-distance transport by road (truck), where the need for large on-board storage volumes, combined with fast refueling, could make them complementary to the development of electricity systems.

The project envisages several intermediate objectives, such as the estimate of carbon dioxide production on a regional scale (Emilia-Romagna); the analysis of the

CO₂ captured from production process; the construction, employing different technologies, of experimental plants for production of CO₂ and green hydrogen fuels

(the latter obtained by water electrolysis powered by renewable sources); the analysis of a potential supply chain for the use of carbon neutral fuels in transport and carbon-intensive industries  such as cement factories.

“A possible synergy between sustainability-oriented innovation and existing supply chains generates considerable interest since it can produce applications capable of speeding up the market penetration of the technological solutions proposed by our project”, Nigliaccio pointed out.

In Emilia-Romagna most of the CO₂ emissions from energy production and industry sectors come from a few medium or large sized plants and account for approximately 35% of the total. CO₂ capture technologies appear as a promising solution to significantly reduce emissions from the industrial sector and combined cycle power generation plants in Italy, capable of playing a key role in the transition to an electricity mix  increasingly relying on renewable sources.

"The possibility of implementing technological solutions such as these, within a regional industrial fabric with significant CO₂ emissions, would favor energy decarbonisation and improve economic competitiveness", Nigliaccio concluded.

For more information please contact:

Giuseppe Nigliaccio, ENEA – Cross Technologies for Urban and Industrial Districts Laboratory, giuseppe.nigliaccio@enea.it

https://e-co2.it/

E-CO₂: combustibili sintetici ed energia elettrica rinnovabile dalla CO₂

[1]Cross Technologies for Urban and Industrial Districts Laboratory  of the ENEA Bologna Research Center