DANISH POWER-TO-X ECOSYSTEM IS A WEAPON OF MASS REDUCTION
accept the value of waste heat resources and invest in district heating systems because the use of excess heat refines the val- ue chain and costs of all end products“, says Søren Schmidt Thomsen, CEO of Triangle Energy Alliance. A Danish Power to X partnership between energy and infrastructure businesses, municipalities, and educational institutions. The local collaboration of 27 business and municipal partners, Triangle Energy Alliance, aims to develop and repurpose the existing “fossil“ infrastructure for the largest possible scale pro- duction and distribution of green energy for households and business consumption. “The industrial symbiosis has a clear potential for the overall efficiency of the energy system, and with the same positive effect as when large scale combined heat and power genera- tion was established in the 1980s in Denmark, Søren Schmidt Thomsen explains. The awe-inspiring potential of energy ecosystems The potentials of PtX-technology ecosystems are awe-inspir- ing. It is a realistic priority in Denmark and an important el- ement of sustainability strategies. Excess heat, cross-sector compatibility, and city development with district heating in its core are essential focus areas supported by further power and heat production, but with the advantage of cheaper consum- er prizes and high supply efficiency. Large volumes of surplus heat at practical high-temperature levels for district heating are already available at larger production facilities, which can be used for everyday purposes in nearby city areas. “Since our goal is higher energy efficiency and decreased dependency on fossil fuels in our energy sector- but really all our societal infrastructures - it is increasingly more pru- dent to establish district heating pipelines, use excess heat, and dedicate hydrogen resources for further refinement with PtX-technologies, says Søren Schmidt. It is not energy efficient to waste 30% of the primary sustainable energy source - solar and wind power – and then let it slip through our fingers and vanish in thin air in the form of excess heat loss from the elec- trolysis process. A valuable energy product such as hydrogen will hopefully never be considered a large-scale alternative to individual gas boiler heaters when a much more cost and en- ergy efficient and well-proven option is available”, says Søren Schmidt Thomsen. “As we have done in the Triangle area, I urge city development officials to collaborate with local businesses and qualified en- ergy infrastructure specialists. They should look at your resourc- es already available and realize that excess products from one
production is a valuable resource for other purposes. Availa- ble resources could also mean land areas owned by the city because sector integration is reliant on compatibility between technologies, and distance is costly“, he says. Heat is one valuable resource from Power-to-X. Another is to capture and use carbon dioxide from existing processes with carbon dioxide as a biproduct, such as biomass or bio-waste heat. Or oxygen from electrolysis for medical industries, agri- culture, and so on. Low hydrogen production costs and hence low consumer costs will be the combined result of efficient use, storage, and repurposing of most byproducts. “The brilliance of an efficient Power to X ecosystem is a basic principle of reducing waste by acknowledging the value for other purposes. These smaller and larger efficiency initiatives are lowering the business and consumer costs of the end prod- ucts. The incentive for the high demand for e-fuels are lowest possible costs, and high demand is the motivation for large- scale production that can rival existing fossil fuel value chains“, according to Søren Schmidt Thomsen. Repurposing fossil fuel infrastructures The historical evolution of energy demand and distribution equipped the central region of Denmark with the ideal energy infrastructure for the production and distribution of liquid and gas fuels. In the 1960s, SHELL established an oil refinery in the Middle of Denmark in the city of Fredericia - at a time in history when oil companies began to place refineries closer to consumers than oil sources. “For centuries, economic growth has been closely intertwined with fossil fuel consumption and infrastructure. But today, in our common transition towards sustainability in energy and transport sectors, the existing fossil infrastructure in Fredericia and neighboring municipalities can be adapted and devel- oped to green fuel and green energy infrastructures. Technical facilities in close vicinity and ambitious partner collaborations will utilize and construct new means of production and dis- tribution of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen-based fuels, oxygen, and so forth”, says Jørgen Nielsen, CEO at TVIS, the local district heating transmission company responsible for regional excess heat use agreements from local industry. For instance, the refinery, a biomass CHP-plant, a waste incinera- tion plant, and now a hydrogen plant.
The Refinery has new owners and a new name, the Crossbridge Refinery Fredericia, and has embarked on a journey to be repur
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