Bioenergy value and opportunity to the UK Dr Geraint Evans CEng, FIChemE, MEI 10 th March 2016 2016 Energy Technologies Institute LLP The information in this document is the property of Energy Technologies Institute LLP and may not be copied or communicated to a third party, or used for any purpose other than that for which it is supplied without the express written consent of Energy Technologies Institute LLP. This 2016 information Energy is given Technologies in good faith based Institute upon the latest LLP information - Subject available to to notes Energy on Technologies page 1Institute LLP, no warranty or representation is given concerning such information, which must not be taken as establishing any contractual or other commitment binding upon Energy Technologies Institute LLP or any of its subsidiary or associated companies.
Agenda The Energy Technologies Institute What do we mean by biomass? Decarbonisation, UK Energy system and challenges Value of bioenergy Step by step approach to addressing challenges Summary
The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) The ETI is a public-private partnership between global energy and engineering companies and the UK Government. ETI members Targeted development, demonstration and de-risking of new technologies for affordable and secure energy Shared risk ETI programme associate
ETI covers 9 technology programme areas & invests in projects at three levels Innovation thinking and innovation delivery... New knowledge o Up to 5M / 2 years Technology development o 5-15M / 2-4 years / TRL 3-5 Technology demonstration 15-30M+ / 3-5 years / TRL 5-6+ Reduced risk
Bioenergy A key lever particularly with CCS Requires sustainable supplies imports and indigenous Major potential for creating negative emissions via CCS Could support a range of conversion and utilisation routes - flexibility Hydrogen SNG Heat bioeconomy ETI investing in soil science, logistics and value chain models Informing decisions what do we grow? where do we grow it? how do we handle it? 18.
Biomass many sources, each with different benefits and concerns Sugars, oils starches Wheat grain, corn, rape oil, soy Forest derived long rotation forestry (LRF) Forest sourced (residues) Energy crops Miscanthus, Short Rotation Willow, Short Rotation Forestry Agricultural residues Straw, rice hulls, bagasse Other wastes Waste wood (pallets), MSW, C&I
Changes in EU15 emissions compared to 1990 baseline (mtoe) only in transport are emissions rising total Waste Agriculture Services Households Transport (3) Industry (2) Energy supply (1)(2) -40% -30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 1. Power & steam production and refineries. 2. Industrial boilers are allocated to industrial sectors. 3. Includes international aviation http://ec.europa.eu/environment/enveco/climate_change/pdf/summary_report_policy_makers.pdf
Decarbonisation in the context of Increasing demand Population: 62 to 77-79 million Vehicles: 24 to 35-43 million cars Housing: 24 to 38 million houses, 80% already exist Aging power production fleet plus increased production capacity need UK climate change act By 2050, reduce UK s emissions by at least 80% compared to 1990 base level Action to date Decarbonising power sector Increasing energy efficiencies (especially households and vehicles) 2025-2050 Significant changes will be needed, especially in energy production and transmission and use in buildings, transport and industry
UK (ESME) energy flows 2015 Primary energy Bioenergy/waste excepted. most primary energy is imported Petroleum dominates - nearly 150 mtoe. Most electricity is indigenously produced Final UK energy consumption 2013:150.1mtoe/6304 PJ Transport accounts for 35½% of all of the energy consumed in the UK Domestic sector accounts for 29% & industrial sector accounts for 16%
Current energy supplies are compartmentalised very little integration across sectors Food/feed Agriculture Marine/Rail Road / Off Road Transport fertiliser Aviation Petro materials e.g. straw, Miscanthus Crude Oil North Sea Gas Coal Refineries Gas treatment Heating/heavy Oil Petrochems Gas grid fertiliser Heat recycling Nuclear Renewables Power stations Electricity grid Power
Bioenergy can offer flexibility for low carbon energy supply in a future UK energy system; potential to deliver into heat, transport and power e.g. straw/ Miscanthus Agriculture / forestry Biomass (from Ag, Forestry, waste etc) Fertliser manufacture e.g. ash Pellets / other Biorefineries Biomass Power stations e.g. ddgs e.g. wheat, OSR, barley Gas grid Heating / heavy oil biofuels biochems Food/feed Heat Transport Bio materials Power (CCS) e.g. Waste foods
Gasification provides flexibility provided there is clean syngas Furnace/Boiler Methane (biosng) Engine/Turbine Gasification direct combustion Cleaned syngas chemical synthesis Fuel cell Fischer Tropsch Ethanol (fermentation) Mixed alcohols synthesis Hydrogen DiMethylEther (DME) Methanol synthesis Carbon monoxide Diesel / jet fuel n-paraffins MTO / MOGD Formaldehyde Acetyls chemicals and materials Fuels Heat Power Gasification to produce clean syngas provides flexibility; mitigating against future energy system uncertainties Ammonia Fertilisers Courtesy of NNFCC
Value of bioenergy in the energy system: transition and credits Negative emissions provide flexibility, headroom Clockwork Patchwork Target is 105 million tonnes of CO 2 in 2050 Bioenergy could deliver net negative GHG emissions of around -55 million tonnes of CO 2 per year in the 2050s (approximately half our emissions target in 2050), and meet around 10% of UK future energy demand (~130 TWh/yr in 2050). This extra headroom helps avoid expensive abatement actions such as in transport Provides more flexibility on transition
Value of bioenergy to the future UK energy system Bioenergy can reduce the cost of meeting UK s 2050 carbon targets by > 1% of GDP Current agriculture sector s output is ~0.7% of GDP (2014) It is likely to be very hard to deliver an affordable low carbon energy system without bioenergy or CCS Without both, it becomes very hard to meet our 2050 GHG targets therefore some increase in biomass production likely to be seen
Bioenergy is complex and difficult to deliver - sustainability queries have limited our ability to move forward 2008 Gallagher review Raised the issue of land use change impacts Suggested a cautious approach weaknesses in data 2012 UK Bioenergy Strategy risks and uncertainties associated with bioenergy: whether it genuinely contributes to carbon reductions; Evidence needed to move the sector forwards bit by bit Land use change impacts, direct and indirect
Balance of field emissions
Bio Value Chain Model and ELUM BVCM Identifies the most effective way of delivering bioenergy into the UK, taking account of available biomass recourses, UK geography, time, technology options and logistics networks. Cell based system UK split into 157 50x50km squares 5 decades and 4 seasons. ELUM: Three year/ 4.2M field trial on 74 commercial UK sites to assess impacts of land use change on soil carbon/nitrogen/water, and GHG emissions effects for three land-use to energy crop transitions. Unique measure and then model approach Field data used to develop field scale model Field scale models integrated using national data to build national model SRF SRC-W Miscanthus
Mean soil GHG emissions over 40 years relative to continued arable, grassland or forest use (counterfactual land use), expressed as net GHG emissions per hectare across the UK
Contextualising across the whole value chain - heat
Observations for heat chains dluc emissions (SOC + Cveg) are material compared to other components in the supply chain Without dluc, all the chains meet the GHG threshold Arable transitions move emissions to negative Grassland transitions with dluc can meet the threshold but not always Forest transitions with dluc included do not work (except forest to SRF which has no dluc) validates exclusion of these chains under the RED. Highlights need to understand and implement best practice management processes.
Contextualising across the whole value chain - electricity
Observations on electricity Without Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Arable transition to Miscanthus remain negative and forest transitions remain unviable Grassland transitions to Miscanthus have positive emissions but well within GHG emissions limit dluc emissions (Cveg + SOC) can be material but many bioenergy value chains even without CCS technology, have the potential to deliver significant savings relative to the fossil baseline CCS provides options CCS element is large compared to dluc element Emissions capture by CCS makes any RED permissible chain using lignocellulosic biomass an option Wastes/residues (e.g. straw) do not have a dluc element. But must be a genuine waste.
There is interest in bioenergy combining food with energy or other benefits may be a path forwards 29 th January 2016
Bioenergy has a major part to play in an affordable low carbon future energy system Without bioenergy, UK will find it very difficult to meet its 2050 commitments affordably Bioenergy could provide about 10% of the UK s energy needs but is complex and difficult to deliver ETI and others are picking off issues bit by bit to that we can be safe to move forwards step by step Sustainability queries need to be answered as these limit our ability to move forwards Impact of dluc emissions identified for numbers of chains to give confidence in delivering GHG savings relative to fossil baselines at lower risk Biomass management actions are important to ensure thresholds are not exceeded Bioenergy with CCS provides the only credible route to negative emissions CCS provides dluc options Decisions are needed over this next 9-10 years
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