Sector Coupling with Power-to-Methanol: An energy system modeling approach with OSeMOSYS

The German power system is in a transformation process involving the shift from carbonintensive to renewable electricity generation. Renewables can deliver low carbon energyto the power sector. However, virtually a complete decarbonization of all sectors isrequired to reach the goals of the Paris declaration. One option is Power-to-Methanol,whereby electricity, water and carbon dioxide is used to produce the base chemical andtransportation fuel methanol.For this work we created an OSeMOSYS model of the German electricity sector. Themodel has a timeframe from 2017 (calibrated state) until 2050. Each year consists of 56time slices, which are based on a demand analysis of the German electricity sector. Basedon the scenario analysis, impacts of the Power-to-Methanol technology on the electricitysector in terms of capacity building, electricity mix and overall system costs can be shown.As a general result of the energy system being in a transformation process the modelshows, irrespective of methanol demand, two things: decreasing conventional andincreasing renewable capacities on the way to 2050. Results indicate that an increasedmethanol demand leads to increased electricity generation capacities. Moreover the resultsshow that a flexible consumer, such as a Power-to-Methanol plant, may act as a demandside management (DSM) device. Furthermore, in comparison to DSM a stationary batterystorage technology is used. Results show that battery storage is able to reduce the overallsystem costs in scenarios with no methanol demand, however, that is not the case in scenarios with methanol demand