Analysis of the German Industry to Determine the Resource Potential of CO₂ Emissions for PtX Applications in 2017 and 2050

Abstract

The production and use of crude oil-based materials, e.g., fossil fuels and bulk chemicals of organic origin, results in an increasing level of CO2 emissions within the atmosphere. One way to reduce such CO2 emissions is to substitute them with synthetic fuels and bulk chemicals. For the production of such CO2 neutral materials, CO2 from various sources can serve as a carbon source. Against this background, this paper analyses and quantifies CO2 emissions released from German industry branches today (2017) and potentially in the future (2050) after a complete defossilization has been achieved. Thus, for the classification of CO2 emissions from the respective industries in 2050, alternative techniques and manufacturing processes are analyzed that might lead to a reduction in energy- and process-related CO2 emissions. Additionally, the individual production sites of the analyzed industries are determined at postcode level and a CO2 potential on NUTS3 level has been developed. Based on this, two scenarios for future CO2 emissions are developed. This shows that, in 2017, the analyzed German industrial sectors emitted almost 143 Mt CO2. By 2050, the overall emissions can be decreased by about 77 Mt to 117 Mt CO2 depending on the implementation level of alternative technologies.

Keywords

• Power-to-X
• carbon capture and utilization
• resource efficiency
• CO₂ emissions
• defossilization