WHAT FUTURE FOR ELECTROFUELS?

Other conference contribution, 2018

Transport sector is seen as the most difficult sector to decarbonise. In recent years so called electrofuels have been proposed as one option for emissions reduction. Electrofuels – fuels made from electricity and carbon dioxide - can potentially help to manage variations in electricity production and reducethe need for biofuels as well as make use of current infrastructure and can be used in sectors where fuel switch is difficult such as aviation. We investigate the cost-effectiveness of electrofuels under climate mitigation constraint and find that electrofuels are unlikely to become cost-effective unless options for storing carbon are very limited.