Defossilising fuels and chemicals -a systemic analysis from feedstock and technology, to hurdles and enablers

Abstract

Defossilizing fuels & Chemicals:We have the renewable feedstocks and the technology. But we miss the societal support. How can progress the defossilisation?Broader ContextClimate change will force society to abandon the fossil feedstock that was so far invaluable for energy, fuels and chemicals, and will force it to switch to renewable ones. Several sectors will switch to renewable electricity. But others, e.g. the heavy duty fuels and chemicals, will resist electrification and will switch to renewable carbon. This perspective presents a systemic approach to this transition by analysing the feedstocks, the technologies, the societal hurdles and their enablers.The perspective will show that the renewable carbon present in our waste and in the bio-residues of agriculture and forestry could suffice to decarbonize our future demand for chemicals and heavyduty fuels. The valorisation technologies are available or under demonstration. However, public and political resistance as well as infrastructure lock-in seem to stall the transition. The hurdles to the broad energy transition are costs, inconvenience and uncertainties. But they are limited to costs for the carbon transition. Hence we will dive a bit in the economics of making renewable products. We will then consider a few enablers that could help overcome or compensate these hurdles. We'll consider the value of local feedstock and existing industrial infrastructure, opportunities in adjusting our product portfolio, and possible measures to gain the support of the public. But we will also argue that the present economic model of free-market capitalism is not suited for supporting this transition and needs to be revisited.