The Digest’s 10 Top Advanced Bioeconomy Markets & Predictions for 2020

4. Power-to-X

Power to X, that’s something most people haven’t yet heard of — it refers to the use of surplus power (think, extra solar or wind power) that we put to new purposes to store that energy rather than just stuffing it into a battery or using power to lift water to store the kinetic energy that will be released when the water tumbles over turbines at its original elevation. Instead, think using excess energy to split water, and store energy in hydrogen, for three vital and ready markets.

As Siemens puts it, Power-to-X describes methods for converting electrical energy into liquid or gaseous chemical energy sources through electrolysis and further synthesis processes. Using electrical current, water is split into oxygen and hydrogen – a 100% CO₂ emission-free process. Being a key technology for the energy transition, Hydrogen can be easily stored and further used or processed in many ways.

The three ready markets?

1 Mobility: Power-to-X produces synthetic fuels for immediate application: e-Methane, e-Methanol, e-Diesel, e-Gasoline or e-Jet fuel – ready for instant use.They can be blended gradually with fossil fuels until they fully replace fossil fuels as a primary energy source. Existing infrastructure such as gas pipelines, gas stations, or storage facilities can be used as well as existing and low-cost consumer applications, powered by e-Fuels.
2 Heating/Cooling: Power-to-X also includes using electrical energy from renewable sources for heat/cold via e.g. heat pumps.
3 Power generation: Modern gas turbines can be operated with a mix of hydrogen and natural gas, with a hydrogen share of 5 to 100%. Hydrogen can be cached, transported in gas grids and re-electrified in gas turbines, combined cycles or fuel cell power plants.