Energy efficiency of future hydrogen-based fuel supply chain routes for Germany’s maritime demand

Kurzfassung

The share of renewable electricity generation has been growing steadily over the past few years. However, not all sectors can be fully electrified to reach decarbonization goals. The maritime industry, which plays a critical role in international trade, is such a sector. Therefore, there is a need for a global strategic approach towards the production, transportation, and use of synfuels, enabling the maritime energy transition to benefit from economies of scale. There are potential locations around the world for renewable generation, such as hydropower in Norway, wind turbines in the North Sea, and photovoltaics in the Sahara, where synfuels can be produced and utilized within the country as well as exported to demand hubs. Given that a country's domestic production may not fully meet its demand, a scenario-based analysis is essential to determine the feasibility of supply chains, pillaring on the demand and supply for the respective sector of utilization. Our work demonstrates this methodology for the import of hydrogen and derived ammonia and methanol to Germany from Norway, Namibia and Algeria in 2030 and 2050, utilizing the pipeline- and ship-based transport scenarios. Thereby, the overall supply chain efficiency for maritime applications is analyzed based on the individual supply chain energy consumption from production to bunkering of the fuel to a vessel. The analysis showed that the efficiency of import varies from 44.6% to 53.9% between the analyzed countries. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis for green and blue hydrogen production pathways is presented along with the influence of qualitative factors like port infrastructure, geopolitics etc. As an example, through these analyses, recommendations for supply from Norway, Algeria, and Namibia at the Port of Wilhelmshaven within a supply chain are examined.