Biomass-derived hydrogen production with carbon capture and storage (CCS) can generate hydrogen whilst also removing CO2 from the atmosphere. This report assesses whether biomass-derived hydrogen with CCS (BHCCS) could feasibly deliver net negative CO2 emissions, making comparisons against the other bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) technologies, including electricity generation and combined heat and power (CHP). To address the concerns about biomass sustainability, the study evaluates large-scale BECCS deployment using biomass sources solely from within the UK, both primary (i.e. dedicated energy crops) and secondary biomass sources (e.g. waste biomass, forest/agricultural residues).

The report findings indicate that BHCCS can play a major role in meeting the UK’s negative emissions targets (offsets hard-abate emissions) and providing a substantial contribution to the UK’s energy system. It was more cost-effective to deploy BHCCS alongside the other BECCS technologies, making it possible to achieve profitable scenarios.

Panel

  • Dr Mai Bui, Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London
  • Dr Mathilde Fajardy, Energy Policy Research Group at the University of Cambridge
  • Dr Ausilio Bauen, Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London
  • Chaired by: Professor Nigel Brandon, Imperial College London
  • Co-Chair: Dr Piera Patrizio, Imperial College London

Biographies

Dr Mai Bui

Mai Bui is a Research Associate in the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. Mai’s research is focused on the combination of pilot plant experiments and dynamic process modelling. She has first-hand experience in designing pilot plant test campaigns, including the CSIRO’s Loy Yang pilot plant (Australia), and the CO2 capture facility at TCM (Mongstad, Norway). She has conducted dynamic modelling analysis of the UKCCSRC PACT pilot plant (UK) and Brindisi CO2 capture plant (Italy). Mai has expertise in developing chemical process modelling tools and surrogate models for a variety of applications, including industrial processes and negative emission technologies (BECCS & DAC). Since completing her PhD at the end of 2015, Mai has published 15 journal papers, an edited book, several reports and a book chapter. She is also a Guest Associate Editor for Frontiers in Energy Research and a Future Energy Leader at the IChemE Energy Centre.

Dr Mathilde Fajardy

Mathilde is a Research Associate in the Energy Policy Research Group at the University of Cambridge, exploring decarbonisation pathways for the heat sector in the UK. Mathilde holds a PhD in Environmental Policy and Process Systems Engineering from Imperial College, where she studied the role of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in mitigating climate change, and the implications of BECCS deployment on the water-land-energy nexus.

Dr Ausilio Bauen

Ausilio Bauen is a Principal Research Fellow at the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London, and a Director of E4tech, a strategy consulting firm specialising in sustainable energy. He has 20 years’ experience in sustainable energy technologies and supply chains, with a focus on bioenergy. His work covers techno-economic, environmental, market, business and policy aspects. Ausilio advises energy and automotive companies, technology developers, industry associations and governments on growth and sustainability aspects of power, heat, fuels and chemicals from biomass. He is part of advisory panels for a range of organisations, including the IEA’s Bioenergy Roadmap Advisory Group, the Climate Bonds Initiative’s Technical Working Group on bioenergy, and the selection panel for UK Department for Transport Fuels for Freight and Flight Competition.

Professor Nigel Brandon

Nigel Brandon OBE FREng is Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial College London. His research is focused on electrochemical devices for energy applications, with a particular focus on fuel cells, electrolysers, and batteries. He is Director of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells SUPERGEN Hub, a founder of Ceres Power, a UK AIM listed fuel cell company spun out from Imperial College in 2000, chair of the Sustainable Gas Institute at Imperial College, and a founder of RFC Power, a flow battery company spun out from Imperial College in 2018. He was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal in 2007, the Inst Civil Engineers Baker Medal in 2011, and the ASME Francis Bacon Medal in 2014, for his contribution to fuel cell science and engineering.

Dr Piera Patrizio

Dr. Patrizio completed her Ph.D. in 2016 at the Energetic Engineering department of the University of Udine. In 2016, Dr. Patrizio was appointed as a Research Scholar at the Ecosystems Service and Management (ESM) program at IIASA, where she investigated alternative energy system decarbonization strategies via CCS in various regional context. Her research experience includes the quantitative analysis of the employment effects of emissions mitigation and the integration of negative emission technologies in existing regional energy systems. She is currently a research associate at the Center For Environmental Policy (CEP) at the Imperial College, under the NERC-GGR project framework. Her work at CEP focuses on connecting insights from energy modelling with social science and climate policy and includes the assessment of socio-economic benefits of energy systems decarbonization and the exploration of approaches that can foster the integration of knowledge across disciplines..

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After registration you will receive a link to webinar by email before the event. The report will be available for download after the launch event.

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