About this Research Topic
Modern bioenergy is an essential component of a low-carbon energy system that meets the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement. Biofuels are especially important for the transport sector and they can also provide low-carbon flexibility and security of supply during clean energy transitions. Sustainable biomass is also a limited resource that should be used as efficiently as possible. In addition to energy efficiency, high carbon efficiency should be pursued to minimize land use and maximize yields to bio-based products. One option for significantly increasing carbon efficiency is to use electricity as a co-energy source in the biomass conversion process, which can be achieved either directly with electrical energy or indirectly through the use of electrolytic hydrogen.
This Research Topic aims to advance our understanding on solutions that can be used to improve the carbon and overall resource efficiency of biomass conversion by using electricity as a co-energy source. In addition, concepts where biomass is used as a source of carbon for the production of electro-fuels are of interest. The possibility of using renewable hydrogen to boost the production of biofuels has already received attention, but further technical solutions and integrated concepts for such electricity-bioenergy hybrids can be developed. These include various electrochemical processes and electric heating in high-temperature catalytic processes. This Research Topic welcomes conceptual, modelling and experimental contributions that highlight either synergies in combining of electricity and bioenergy in a single process plant, or system benefits of electricity-bioenergy hybrids. Environmental impact studies (e.g. LCA studies) on electricity-bioenergy hybrids are also relevant to this collection.
The aim of this Research Topic is to cover promising, recent, and novel research trends in “Electricity-bioenergy hybrids”. Areas to be covered in this SI may include, but are not limited to:
- Integration of electrolysis with biomass conversion
- Direct use of electricity to improve resource efficiency of biomass conversion
- The impact of electricity use on the life-cycle emissions of biomass conversion
- System level impacts of electricity-bioenergy hybrids
Topic Editor John Bøgild Hansen works at Haldor Topsøe A/S, a company that manufactures and sells technologies and solutions that are relevant to the Research Topic. Mr Hansen has also made several relevant inventions on this topic that Topsøe holds patents on. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
This Research Topic aims to advance our understanding on solutions that can be used to improve the carbon and overall resource efficiency of biomass conversion by using electricity as a co-energy source. In addition, concepts where biomass is used as a source of carbon for the production of electro-fuels are of interest. The possibility of using renewable hydrogen to boost the production of biofuels has already received attention, but further technical solutions and integrated concepts for such electricity-bioenergy hybrids can be developed. These include various electrochemical processes and electric heating in high-temperature catalytic processes. This Research Topic welcomes conceptual, modelling and experimental contributions that highlight either synergies in combining of electricity and bioenergy in a single process plant, or system benefits of electricity-bioenergy hybrids. Environmental impact studies (e.g. LCA studies) on electricity-bioenergy hybrids are also relevant to this collection.
The aim of this Research Topic is to cover promising, recent, and novel research trends in “Electricity-bioenergy hybrids”. Areas to be covered in this SI may include, but are not limited to:
- Integration of electrolysis with biomass conversion
- Direct use of electricity to improve resource efficiency of biomass conversion
- The impact of electricity use on the life-cycle emissions of biomass conversion
- System level impacts of electricity-bioenergy hybrids
Topic Editor John Bøgild Hansen works at Haldor Topsøe A/S, a company that manufactures and sells technologies and solutions that are relevant to the Research Topic. Mr Hansen has also made several relevant inventions on this topic that Topsøe holds patents on. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
Keywords: bioenergy, electricity, hydrogen, resource efficiency, flexibility
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
