WP3 Gas for transport
Use of gas in the transport sector requires additional gas infrastructure and gas filling station investments, and also adds considerable to the cost of the vehicles. Thus, it results in large transport investment requirements while it provides a relatively low fuel cost. Further, it is providing a possibility for high transport energy efficiency and a pathway for transport carbon emission reductions. Gas in transport might also be a way of increasing the uptake of dispersed biogas production and provide a transition into an increasing larger share of hydrogen used for transport. Thus, use of gas in the transport sector is encumbered with certain important advantages and disadvantages. In personal cars compressed gas is often considered to be the most cost-efficient way of gas use while heavy-duty vehicles requires liquefied gas to provide sufficient driving ranges. The use of gas in transport is limited in most European countries with Sweden being one exception. In several cities worldwide, compressed gas has been introduced as a diesel substitute as an air pollution measure. Whether gas should be used to any larger extent in the future Danish transport system depends on how and at what cost carbon emission can be reduced in other sectors and the available alternatives for carbon emission reductions in the transport sector.
In WP3, the possible use of gas in transport in Denmark and its impacts will be assessed. First, possible options and scenarios of gas use in transport will be explored based on the experience of using gas for transport in Sweden but taking into account the current gas infrastructure in Denmark and its future possible developments. Then, the optimal use of gas in transport will be modelled under a wide range of scenarios taking into account various development of the rest of the Danish energy system, future technological developments and different policy pathways.
The WP is split into three tasks:
- 3.1: Evaluation of technologies for use of gas for transport and overview of competing renewable transport fuels and vehicles
- 3.2: Modelling gas in possible Danish transport futures
- 3.3: Analysis of optimal cost-efficient use of gas for transport in Denmark
The modelling will address potential synergies and compare cost-efficiency and robustness with other fuels, including liquid renewable-based fuels. The elaborate modelling of the transport sector in the Swedish TIMES-MARKAL model and results from the transport modelling in the Danish research project, COMETS, hosted by DTU-ME, will provide invaluable input to the modelling of the transport sector in the FutureGas project. The WP will be supported by a PostDoc.
Partners participating:
- Prof. E. Ahlgren
- Chalmers University
- DTU Management Engineering
- HMN Naturgas
- Danish Energy Association
- Energinet.dk