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The blockchain has been proposed for use in various applications in the energy field. Although the blockchain has technical strengths, several obstacles affect the application of the technology in energy services. The scope of this study is to highlight and prioritise the most important barriers to such applications. The first step in this direction is specifying the potential areas of the implementation of blockchain technology in the energy sector. Two useful tools for market analysis were used: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental, PESTLE Analysis, and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, SWOT Analysis, which examine external and internal factors, respectively. Thus, a list of the most important elements hindering the incorporation of the blockchain in the energy sector was extracted. The detected barriers were classified and ranked by energy and IT experts using the multicriteria method, "Analytical Hierarchy Process for Group Decision Making". The results reveal that legal barriers relating to the complexities of deficiencies of regulations are the most significant, while technological barriers, especially those related to security issues, are also important. Sociopolitical barriers related mainly to lack of trust in blockchain, as well as economic concerns such as high upfront costs, are less influential but should still be considered. The conclusions of the conducted research have the potential to guide market actors in their endeavours to modernise energy systems through the use of the blockchain, assisting them in designing the most appropriate market strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green hydrogen and power-to-X technologies hold significant potential in the global energy transition towards net-zero emissions. This is attributed to the premise that these technologies can decarbonize numerous sectors worldwide by providing versatile and sustainable energy carriers and industrial feedstocks to replace fossil-based fuels and chemicals. To this end, the qualitative benefits of green hydrogen and power-to-X technologies have been thoroughly examined for various applications in past years. In contrast, quantifying the potential penetration of such technologies on national and global levels still requires extensive research. Therefore, this paper investigates the prospective integration of green hydrogen and power-to-X technologies within Jordanian industries, considering their quantitative utilization potential for current and future capacities. The findings showed that the Jordanian food processing and heavy industries emerged as major sectors with substantial potential for incorporating green hydrogen and power-to-X products as alternative fuels or chemical feedstocks. In detail, the total potential utilization capacity for these sectors stood at around 57 thousand tons per year. Specifically, fertilizers production, cement industry, steel reforming, and oil refinery possess an annual potential capacity of around 6.8, 11.8, 12.7, and 25.8 thousand tons, respectively. It is also worth mentioning that the current utilization capacity of hydrogen in Jordanian industries was found to be around 8.9 thousand tons per annum, which is completely covered by fossil-based hydrogen to date. These results imply that there will be a promising market for green hydrogen and power-to-X utilization in Jordanian industries, which will play a significant role in integrated energy transition efforts in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water-and-waste sector has shown a marked interest in innovative management practices for dewatered sludge. The need to manage increased sludge volumes at rising disposal costs, coupled with the recognition of the potential for on-site energy production, have been the key drivers for this recent appeal. With the current political view supporting the development of a renewable-gas industry in Portugal, renewable gases are considered an attractive solution for dewatered-sludge valorization. Moreover, investment in renewable-gas supply chains would help the industry to mature to a level at which the technology and market are rapidly established. Recognizing this interest, dewatered-sludge gasification was selected as a possible valorization pathway, with the potential for hydrogen and bio-SNG production, as well as decentralized heat and power. This document identifies the market opportunities for the establishment of sewage-sludge gasification in Portugal. The analysis starts with a brief overview of the Portuguese water-and-waste sector, and a description of the current status of the renewable-gas markets. Finally, the dewatered-sludge amounts are quantified, and the potential for energy and renewable-gas production is estimated to support the interest in wastewater management in advanced processes, and to pave the way for future feasibility studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermo-mechanical energy storage can be a cost-effective solution to provide flexibility and balance highly renewable energy systems. Here, we present a concise review of emerging thermo-mechanical energy storage solutions focusing on their commercial development. Under a unified framework, we review technologies that have proven to work conceptually through project demonstration at a scale above 1 MW by describing the current state of commercial development, quantifying techno-economic parameters, outlining the challenges, and assessing each technology's potential for commercial viability. The levelized cost of storage for thermo-mechanical energy storage at storage duration between 8 h and 1 week is cheaper than that of lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen storage; however, energy storage for such duration does not pay for itself at the current renewable penetration levels. For medium-term energy storage to be viable, at the realistic storage cost of 15 USD/kWh to 40 USD/kWh, the investment cost for power components should decrease to one-fifth of the current costs. Thermo-mechanical energy storage can be economically viable at the current investment costs in off-grid systems only when the marginal cost of alternative fuel exceeds 100 USD/MWh. We identified the cost ratio (charge power cost/discharge power cost) and the discharge efficiency as the critical technology-related performance parameters. Other external factors such as wind and solar fractions, demand, interconnections, sector coupling, and market structure play an important role in determining the economic feasibility of thermo-mechanical energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building renovation was declared a key point for sustainable development, however, the renovation rate of residential buildings in the European Union is insufficient to meet the climate and energy targets set. This paper analyses the main circular economy models used in the construction sector, as well as the situation of the building renovation market, to set a framework for circular economy models in building renovation. Of all the existing strategies in this sector, design, material recovery, building renovation and end-of-life actions would be the best, respectively. It also includes a market analysis consisting of a literature review covering PEST perspectives (political, economic, social and technical) and a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), concluding with a market gap analysis. The results of these analyses allow the development of a series of suggestions and strategies to be followed in order to solve the main barriers that hinder the implementation of the circular economy in the building´s renovation sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonation curing on steel slag is one of the most promising technologies for the iron and steel industry to manage its solid waste and carbon emissions. However, the technology is still in its demonstration stage. This paper investigates the market stakeholders of carbonation curing on steel slag for construction materials for its effective application by taking China as a case study. A holistic analysis of the competition, market size, and stakeholders of carbonation curing on steel slag was carried out through a literature review, a survey, a questionnaire, and interviews. The results showed that carbonation curing on steel slag had the advantages of high quality, high efficiency, low cost, and carbon reduction compared with other technologies. Shandong province was the most suitable province for the large-scale primary application of the technology. Stakeholder involvement to establish information platforms, enhance economic incentives, and promote adequate R&D activities would promote carbonation curing of steel slag into practice. This paper provides a reference for the commercialization of carbonation curing on similar calcium- and magnesium-based solid waste materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hard coal is widely used as a source of energy, and a number of catalysts have been developed to minimize the noxious impact of this fuel on combustion. This paper presents the cost-efficiency analysis of a system for improving the combustion of solid fuels, especially fine coal, in power boilers. The system is provided with a control and supervision device. It has been designed for better accuracy in controlling the boiler operating parameters, with a view to improving combustion efficiency due to the use of catalysts. The tests were carried out for system capacities ranging from 3 to 100 MW. It was found that, depending on the size of the system in the range of 3–100 MW, savings in the fuel consumption ranged from 2% to 8% due to the implementation of novel solutions in the boiler plant operation and from 2 to 6% due to the use of the combustion catalysts. Apart from boosting energy efficiency, the use of catalysts and the efficiency-boosting system resulted in the costs of overhauls being cut by about 20%. The payback time depends on system capacities, and it is between 6.75 and 1.74 years for capacities ranging from 3 to 75 MW and 2.0 years for a 100 MW plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A full-scale understanding of the dynamics of the Chinese vehicle market can benefit stakeholders with respect to rational decision-making and effective long-term investment. This study attempts to discover the common vehicle pricing patterns in the Chinese market by quantifying statistical correlations among critical vehicle features from intrinsic powertrain systems to extrinsic market positioning. The data samples involve almost all passenger vehicle models sold in 2013 to 2019. After comparing multiple statistical methodologies, a log-transformation variant of the multinomial linear regression model was found to be the best one, and the goodness of fit shows that this model can offer stable estimates, which were validated using 2019 market data. The insights achieved are: (1) The price and major performance features of SUVs/crossovers are similar to those of sedans; (2) If all other explicit features remain the same, the price of a Japanese midsize sedan is 62% higher than that of a Chinese midsize sedan, and European midsize vehicles have the highest prices overall. (3) The incremental price of fuel consumption varies by vehicle class and fuel economy. For example, from 30 to 50 MPG, the vehicle price increases by $119 for a Chinese brand sedan vehicle, by $69 for a Chinese brand SUV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]