How the power-to-liquid technology can contribute to reaching carbon neutrality of the China's transportation sector?

There is a growing interest in the power-to-liquid (PTL) technology, especially in using electricity from renewable sources to generate H 2 , and then coupled with CO 2 captured from various sources (e.g., coal-fired power plants) to produce liquid fuels (e.g., gasoline). As a negative emission technology, the product of PTL could be used in the internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV) and thus cause limited shifts in current energy infrastructure and automobile industry compared with the electrification paths. However, it is still unknown whether the PTL technology could be adopted and contributed to reaching carbon neutrality in China's transportation sector. Against this, a novel model of the liquid fuel supply system considering multiple low-emission technologies, including PTL, is constructed to evaluate PTL's potential contribution and cost to the carbon-neutral target of China's transportation sector. Results show the following: First, PTL can achieve a maximum 93% carbon emission reduction compared with oil to liquid (OTL). Second, the most cost-effective deployment strategy for PTL is to increase the total cost by 5–10%. Third, international oil prices and technology-learning effects have significant impacts on the diffusion of PTL. Fourth, PTL can be a supplementary solution to achieve net-zero emissions in the transportation sector. • We construct a liquid fuel supply system model under the MESSAGE ix framework. • We assess whether PTL (power-to-liquid) will appear in the liquid fuel systems. • We analyse how oil price and technological learning rate affect the diffusion of PTL. • PTL is a supplementary solution to achieve net-zero emissions in the transportation sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]