Impact of global heterogeneity of renewable energy supply on heavy industrial production and green value chains

2024/04/24 by Philipp C. Verpoort, Lukas Gast, Anke Hofmann +1 · 1 voice · 6 citations
Chemical Engineering · Engineering · #Catalysts for Methane Reforming #Extraction and Separation Processes #Iron and Steelmaking Processes

paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41560-024-01492-z

openalex publication_date 2024/04/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

Abstract On the path to climate neutrality, global production locations and trade patterns of basic materials might change due to the heterogeneous availability of renewable electricity. Here we estimate the ‘renewables pull’, that is, the energy-cost savings, for varying depths of relocation for three key tradable energy-intensive industrial commodities: steel, urea and ethylene. For an electricity-price difference of €40 MWh −1 , we find respective relocation savings of 18%, 32% and 38%, which might, despite soft factors in the private sector, lead to green relocation. Conserving today’s production patterns by shipping hydrogen is substantially costlier, whereas trading intermediate products could save costs while keeping substantial value creation in renewable-scarce importing regions. In renewable-scarce regions, a societal debate on macroeconomic, industrial and geopolitical implications is needed, potentially resulting in selective policies of green-relocation protection.

Citations

• Global potential of green ammonia based on hybrid PV-wind power plants
• Green ammonia as a spatial energy vector: a review
• True Cost of Solar Hydrogen
• ‘Clean’ hydrogen? – Comparing the emissions and costs of fossil fuel versus renewable electricity based hydrogen
• From fossil to green chemicals: sustainable pathways and new carbon feedstocks for the global chemical industry

Cited by

• Analysing techno-economic impacts of integrating wave power to achieve carbon neutrality and electricity based fuel exports: A case for New Zealand
• Prospective life cycle assessment of baseload hydrogen based on solar photovoltaics and wind power including underground hydrogen storage
• Techno-economic analysis of e-methanol infrastructure choice for the case of Finland
• Interactive framework for techno-economic meta-analysis of marine hydrogen transportation
• Impact of wave power integration and sustainable e-fuel, e-chemical, and e-materials exports on Chile’s energy transition
• Electrification versus hydrogen: A data-driven comparison framework for energy-intensive industries

Discussions

• Increased recycling and use of alternative materials can reduce the need for primary production of basic materials and keep the need for costly hydrogen in check. Moreover, international trade allows [bsky, 1 points, 1 comments]

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