Status of and Perspectives for Power to Products

Increasingly, our energy system will become electrified because costs of renewable energies like solar PV and wind continue to decrease. However, whereas the traditional fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas offer 24/7 availability, wind and solar energy are only available intermittently – with fluctuations varying from seconds to seasons. I will explore the use of cheap renewable electricity to create carbon-based fuels and chemicals with a zero-carbon footprint from water and CO2. Technically such “power to products” (PTP) or “liquid sunshine” schemes are feasible, yet economically they are far from being attractive. Also, often such schemes cannot lay claim to having truly a zero-carbon footprint. I will discuss what technical breakthroughs are required to make PTP schemes being zero-carbon and economically attractive.