Sustainability Assessment of an Integrated Value Chain for the Production of eFuels

EFuels are discussed as an alternative to fossil fuels for several applications within the transport sector. In this paper, a sustainability assessment is presented considering an integrated process chain, which is developed and investigated in the project Kopernikus P2X. The assessment consists of a Techno-Economic Assessment (TEA), an environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and a literature review about the future production potential. Thereby, the LCA and TEA are based on the results presented in the 3rd roadmap of the Kopernikus P2X project. In addition, the focus is on the implications of the electricity input. The results show that there is an environmental benefit in case of global warming, if renewable electricity is used. Additionally, the improvement can be magnified by increasing the efficiency of the power plants through higher capacity factors at the individual sites. Inexpensive renewable electricity and high full load hours are important for economic considerations. Apart from that, it is likely that policy measures will be required to make production and use of eFuels economical compared to fossil equivalents. The review of potential analyses showed that the majority of the production of eFuels for German demand will most likely not be in Germany. In addition, it can be assumed that the quantity of eFuels that can be produced will not be sufficient for all branches of the transport sector. This necessitates prioritizing those modes of transportation where direct electrification is not possible.