On the long-term prospects of power-to-gas technologies

摘要

Electricity generation from variable renewable energy sources such as wind andsolar has grown in some countries at such a high rate that long-term storagebecomes relevant. The main rationale of power-to-gas (P2G) conversion of excesspower is that the capacity of the gas pipelines and gas storage is much higher thanthat of the electricity transmission lines. This paper investigates the market prospectsof hydrogen and methane from P2G conversion as a long-term electricitystorage option. Of specific interest is the future development of investment costs,economies-of-scale, the impact of the electricity price, and its distribution as wellas possible locations. We conclude that from an economic point-of-view, the futureprospects of all P2G technologies are much less promising than currently indicatedin several papers and discussions. It will become very hard for P2G to compete inthe electricity markets despite a high technological learning potential. However, forboth hydrogen and methane, there are prospects for use in the transport sector.Already today compressed gas vehicles are by and large competitive.