Can storage technologies reduce the production cost of methanol?

Storage technologies, e.g., batteries and tanks for intermediates, in support of Power-to-Methanol plants could therefore contribute to reducing the production cost of methanol.

Can methanol be used as a cyclic energy source?

Upcycling carbon dioxide (CO 2) and intermittently generated renewable hydrogen to stored products such as methanol (MeOH) allows the cyclic use of carbon and addresses the challenges of storage energy density, size and transportability as well as responsiveness to energy production and demand better than most storage alternatives.

Could methanol be an alternative to hydrogen storage?

Methanol as ULDES could offer an alternative to hydrogen storage. A concept for methanol storage with carbon cycling from Baak et al. 8 is sketched in Figure 1 with all inputs and outputs. Methanol can be synthesized from electrolytic hydrogen and carbon oxides (so called “e-methanol”).

Why is methanol a promising liquid energy carrier?

1. Introduction Methanol is a promising liquid energy carrier due to its relatively high volumetric and gravimetric energy density and simple handling, but it has a significantly lower roundtrip efficiency when compared with other energy storage technologies, e.g., batteries .

Is methanol a cost-effective solution?

Since using the methanol system is still 29%–43% lower in cost than using aboveground pressure vessels for hydrogen, it presents the most cost-effective solution of those studied here where salt deposits are not accessible. The round-trip efficiency for hydrogen storage at 38% is higher than for methanol storage with carbon cycling at 35%.

Does methanol storage reduce the cost of electricity?

The annualized cost of methanol was minimized for a grid-connected and a stand-alone case study considering current and future (2030) unit cost scenarios. The optimization results confirm that storage, especially hydrogen storage, is particularly beneficial when the electricity price is high and highly fluctuating.