Off-grid power-to-fuel systems for a market launch scenario - A techno-economic assessment

In this paper the integration of systems for the production of electrofuels for a market entrance scenario from a short-term perspective is examined. A model was built to optimize the design parameters and simulate the yearlong operation of an off-grid power-to-fuel system, consisting of a wind park, electrolyzer, hydrogen storage, a CO2 source and synthesis plant. In this manuscript, the regional focus is Germany; however, the results as well as the methodology can be applied to other regions. Successively, the production costs for the designed system were calculated on the basis of the model results. Various cases for different operational modes and sites have been analyzed. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was made to test the influence of single economic assumptions. Calculations demonstrate that the proposed off-grid systems are a viable option for implementation in a shortterm scenario. The results include net production costs of 1.73 (sic)/l(GE) (GE = gasoline equivalent) for methanol production in the reference case. For optimal wind farm sites, the calculated production costs can drop to 1.32 (sic)/l(GE).