Our Scientific Advisory Committee member, Jan Mertens, co-authored the scientific paper ‘Life cycle assessment of solar energy conversion into synthetic natural gas for transportation including CO2 capture and dual shipping’ published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (Elsevier).
The article assesses the environmental performance of solar energy conversion into SNG for its transportation benchmarked to the conventional natural gas production and its import in Belgium. Given the challenges of renewable energy production in Belgium, due to limited land availability, the study explores alternatives such as importing solar energy from regions with high solar irradiation, such as the Atacama Desert, via energy vectors like SNG produced using carbon capture and utilisation technologies..
The study found that capturing CO₂ directly from the air in the Atacama Desert, producing SNG there and transporting it to Belgium (Case 1) has a lower impact on climate change and fossil resource use compared to capturing CO₂ from industrial sources in Belgium and producing SNG locally (Case 2) or compare to producing conventional natural gas (Reference). However, the impact of Case 1 on other Life Cycle Assessment indicators (e.g., freshwater ecotoxicity) is higher than the reference, but lower than Case 2.
The study is open access until 13 June 2025.
CO2 Value Europe Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) comprises of scientists covering a wide range of expertise related to Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU). They ensure that the association’s messages and activities are based on solid and objective scientific evidence.
Read the full paper here.
