The Role of Cogeneration in the Electrification Pathways towards Decarbonization

The global call for an environmentally friendly, sustainable, and reliable energy system looks for the optimal integration of different technologies to allow a smooth and economically viable transition towards electrification. In this context, small, medium, and large industrial processes are relevant contributors to global CO2 emissions production due to the simultaneous requirement of electricity, heating, and cooling power generally obtained through fossil fuel combustion. In this context, Combined Heat and Power Energy converters based on internal combustion engines, such as reciprocating engines, gas turbines, and gas turbine combined cycles, and external combustion, such as backpressure and condensing steam power plants, are the most suitable solutions for the efficient and reliable generation of the above-mentioned assets. Typically, the industrial demand for heat and electricity differs in terms of heat-to-power ratio when compared to the heat-to-power ratio of the CHP plant, and this has led to requiring the selection of a control strategy to follow, partially or fully, the heat load or the electric load. In this paper, the authors propose an operating and design strategy addressed to fully covering the heat load demands by the heat generated by the CHP, allowing the system to have an excess of electricity generated. This electricity can be used for different purposes, as regards the novel electrification roadmap. Indeed, the authors have explored four configurations in which the excess of the CHP-generated electricity can be exported to the national grid, used for high-tension fast-charging electromobility systems, for running reverse osmosis desalination plants, and for the production of alternative fuels such as hydrogen. The authors propose a methodology for providing an extensive environmental techno-economic assessment that looks at 2050 CO2 targets. Accordingly, the environmental techno-economic assessment results are presented and discussed by considering the Net Present Value, payback period, and CO2 emission savings.