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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
Book cover


Integration of Waste Heat from Power to X in District Heating Systems

Authors

;

Term

4. Term

Publication year

2023

Submitted on

Pages

103

Abstract

Power-to-X (PtX) uses electricity to produce hydrogen and other fuels and is seen as a way to cut emissions from industry and transport. Denmark’s former government set a goal of 4–6 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030. This would create a large amount of waste heat—heat released as a by-product. Because there is limited research on how to use this heat, this thesis examined how waste heat from PtX plants could be integrated into Sønderborg’s district heating networks (systems that supply hot water for space heating to buildings). PtX waste heat is unusual compared with dominant heat sources: it fluctuates and cannot be directly controlled by district heating companies. Making use of it may therefore require closer cooperation among the local companies. The quantitative analyses show potential to expand district heating, with total expansions raising annual heat demand by about 15%. How much waste heat can be used depends on whether the two local systems are interconnected or kept separate. Compared with today’s setup, using the waste heat is feasible from both business and socioeconomic perspectives if the two district heating systems are linked by a transmission line. Depending on PtX plant size, waste heat could supply 34–56% of annual heat production if the systems are interconnected.

Power-to-X (PtX) bruger elektricitet til at fremstille brint og andre brændsler og ses som en måde at reducere udledninger fra industri og transport. Den tidligere danske regering satte et mål om 4–6 GW elektrolysekapacitet i 2030. Det vil skabe en stor mængde overskudsvarme – varme, der opstår som et biprodukt. Da der er begrænset forskning i, hvordan denne varme kan udnyttes, undersøgte specialet, hvordan overskudsvarme fra PtX kan integreres i Sønderborgs fjernvarmesystemer (net, der leverer varmt vand til opvarmning af bygninger). PtX-overskudsvarme adskiller sig fra de dominerende teknologier, fordi den er svingende og ikke kan styres direkte af fjernvarmeselskaberne. Derfor kan udnyttelsen kræve tættere samarbejde mellem de lokale fjernvarmeselskaber. De kvantitative analyser viser, at der er potentiale for at udvide fjernvarmen, så de samlede udvidelser kan øge det årlige varmebehov med ca. 15%. Hvor meget overskudsvarme der kan udnyttes, afhænger af, om de to lokale systemer er sammenkoblet eller holdes adskilt. Sammenlignet med det nuværende setup er udnyttelsen både forretningsmæssigt og samfundsøkonomisk gennemførlig, hvis de to fjernvarmesystemer forbindes med en transmissionsledning. Afhængigt af PtX-anlæggets størrelse kan overskudsvarmen bidrage med 34–56% af den årlige varmeproduktion, hvis systemerne er sammenkoblet.

[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]