Publikationsrepositorium - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Methanol is considered as an essential base chemical, which is widely known for its versatility and broad potential use contexts in future chemical industries and energy storage applications. Methanol production pathways powered by renewable electricity sources, also known as power-to-methanol processes, are characterized by low specific life-cycle emissions and are therefore of paramount interest. One possible renewable process chain features proton-conducting high temperature electrolyzers combined with a direct hydrogenation of CO2. In this paper, a techno-economic forecast study of this process chain is presented and specific production costs of renewable methanol under different electricity supply scenarios are determined and discussed for the years 2030 and 2050. The studies showed that flexible grid-supported scenarios through direct spot-market participation and renewable scenarios enable the largest production cost reduction potential in the upcoming decades.