Electrification of the energy sector will play a central role in moving the European Union towards climate neutrality by 2050, concludes a new report published on Tuesday 16 March by the Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE), a European think tank.
Aiming to assess and quantify the sources of flexibility in the European energy system, this report analyses four scenarios: - a baseline scenario in which the EU aims to achieve zero net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050; - a 90% GHG emission reduction scenario by 2050; - a scenario identical to the baseline, but favouring electrification; - a scenario identical to the baseline, but more based on gasification.
In the end, the results of the modelling of the four scenarios “suggest the central role of the electricity supply sector and electricity-based end-use technologies (e.g. electric vehicles and heat pumps) to deliver deep decarbonisation”, the authors note.
In addition to electricity being essential to achieving climate neutrality, other “low-carbon” energy sources will play a role, they add, mentioning in particular biomethane, hydrogen, synthetic fuels resulting from the combination of green hydrogen and CO2 (e-fuels) to produce electricity and bioenergy with CO2 capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies.
The report therefore reaffirms the importance of the integration of the EU energy system, or ‘sectoral coupling’, at all stages of the energy system value chain.
“European single markets in electricity, methane, hydrogen and carbon are essential to fully exploit sector coupling in the pursuit of net zero [emissions]”, said Chi Kong Chyong, co-lead author of the report.
See the report: https://bit.ly/2OWZW7l (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)