Prospective LCA and LCC applied on different Power-to-Gas technologies

Abstract

Power-to-Gas technologies enable the integration of nondispatchable renewable energy sources into several sectors and help decarbonize and transform them. This study investigates to which extent an increase in Power-to-Gas technology applications affects their prospective environmental and economic performance. A first combined prospective LCA and LCC for different Power-to-Gas technologies based on the learning curve concept is presented. For the considered case study of future electrolysis and methanation, the applicability of the concept is demonstrated and prospective LCA and LCC results are obtained. Under assumed conditions, highest decreases in environmental impacts and costs occur between the years 2025 and 2030. Polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis shows prospective advantages over alkaline water electrolysis. All results indicate that an extension of Power-to-Gas deployment and accompanying learning effects until the year 2050 can lead to significant reductions of more than 70 % in terms of environmental impacts and life cycle costs.