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As energy system research into high shares of renewables has developed, so have the perspectives of the fundamental nature of a highly renewable economy. Early energy system transition research suggested that current fossil fuel energy systems would transition to a 'Hydrogen Economy', whereas more recent insights suggest that a 'Power-to-X Economy' may be a more appropriate term, as renewable electricity will become both the most important primary and final energy carrier through various Power-to-X conversion routes across the energy system. This paper provides a detailed overview on research insights of recent years on the core elements of the Power-to-X Economy and the role of hydrogen based on latest research results. These results suggest that, by 2050, upwards of 61,737 TWh LHV of hydrogen will be required to fully defossilise the global energy-industry system. Hydrogen, therefore, emerges as a central intermediate energy carrier and its relevance is driven by significant cost reductions in renewable electricity, especially of solar photovoltaics and wind power. Efficiency and cost drivers position direct electrification as the primary solution for defossilisation of the global energy-industry system; however, electron-to-molecule routes are essential for the large subset of remaining energy-related demands including chemical production, marine and aviation fuels, and steelmaking. [Display omitted] • The term 'Hydrogen Economy' insufficiently describes future energy systems. • 'Power-to-X Economy' better highlights the essential role of renewable electricity. • The highest reported demand for e-hydrogen is presented at over 60 PWh H2,LHV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current energy crisis calls for a rapid transition to renewables. Solar photovoltaics (PV) is the key component of the future energy system and a majority of PV systems are installed on rooftops in Europe. This article studies the business case of prosumers, i.e., consumers who produce part or all of their electricity with PV. The levelized cost of PV electricity is compared with the average value of PV electricity for the prosumers in residential, commercial, and industrial installations in Finland, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain with different self‐consumption (SC) and weighted average cost of capital rates. Prosumer business cases are positive in every studied market segment and country, especially for industrial PV systems with 100% SC where a payback time of less than 4 years can be achieved. The sensitivity of payback time on key input parameters is also studied. Reasonable cost of capital and adequate SC of PV generation remain the key elements for attractive prosumerism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fight against global warming requires novel approaches for the defossilisation of industrial processes, and the limitation of global warming requires options for negative carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The production of carbon fibre (CF) is an energy-intensive chain of processes which cause CO2 emissions. Having in mind the high market growth for CF composite materials, CF production might stand against the fight against global warming. CF also offers a huge mitigation opportunity, as CF contain up to 95–98wt% of pure carbon. This study investigates possible ways to link CF production to atmospheric CO2, enabling negative CO2 emissions through CF manufacturing. Production value chains for CF based on poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) and pitch, the two most important CF precursor materials, are developed and analysed regarding their energy and mass balances. The PAN value chain is further assessed regarding a first economic estimation of CF production cost with atmospheric CO2 as carbon source. The results show that production costs per ton CO2 removed might be unattractive at 2949 €/tCO2 in 2050. However, from a CF perspective, production cost of 10.3 €/kgCF in 2050 might enable a business case for electricity-based CF production from atmospheric CO2 in the future. Each ton of CF produced can store about 3.5 tCO2 due to a very high carbon share in the final product. With an increasing market for CF, a total negative emission potential of at least 0.7 GtCO2 per year can be enabled by 2050. Further research opportunities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple energy‐related crises require a fast transition towards a sustainable energy system. The European Green Deal aims for zero CO2 emission by 2050, while accelerating climate change impacts obligate a faster phase‐out of fossil fuels. Energy transition studies for Europe at and near 100% renewable energy are used as a benchmark for two newly introduced scenarios for Europe reaching zero CO2 emissions by 2050 and 2040. A technology‐rich energy system model was applied in hourly resolution for Europe in 20 interconnected regions and in full sector coupling covering all energy demands. The results reveal a cost‐neutral energy transition towards 2050 based on declining levelised cost of electricity and a pathway with 9% higher energy costs leading to 17% lower total CO2 emissions with an accelerated energy transition by 2040. The two scenarios find shares of solar photovoltaic (PV) in total generation of 61%–63% by 2050, the highest ever estimated for Europe, still below the highest global average shares ranging between 75% and 77% form three independent studies. The central energy system components are solar PV, wind power, batteries, electrolysers and CO2 direct air capture for carbon capture and utilisation. The core characteristic of the European energy future may be best described by a power‐to‐X economy, which may evolve on the global scale to a solar‐to‐X economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]