Country-based LCA of several conversion pathways of on grid-connected Power-to-X (PtX) fuels and advanced biofuels for maritime transport in Europe.
We estimate the biomass resource availability (agricultural and forest residues and second-generation energy crops from abandoned cropland) and electricity mix for European countries to assess the climate change mitigation of PtX and advanced biofuel.
The mitigation potential of PtX fuels is limited to countries with carbon intensity of electricity mix below 100 gCO2eq kWh−1. The FuelEU Maritime goal can be achieved with PtX only if connected to electricity sources below ca. 17 gCO2eq kWh−1, which can become possible by 2050 only if renewable energy sources will become deployed at large scales.
In Europe, the potentials of energy supply from all low-carbon fuels range from 32 to 149% of the current annual fuel consumption in European maritime transport. Their full deployment with CCS could mitigate up to 184% of the current shipping emissions in Europe.
A strategic combination of both hydrogen-based biofuels and PtX fuels can contribute to climate mitigation targets for present and future scenarios of European maritime transport.
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