As a renewable green liquid fuel, the development of "liquid sunlight" has been paid more and more attention by all countries, and it is regarded as an ideal way to solve carbon dioxide emission reduction and even achieve carbon neutrality.

the so-called "liquid sunlight" is to electrolyze water generated by renewable energy such as solar energy to produce hydrogen, and to synthesize carbon dioxide and hydrogen into green liquid fuel such as methanol, which is convenient for storage and transportation.

"'liquid sunlight' is the way to truly utilize renewable energy to recycle carbon dioxide and realize large-scale low-carbon or even carbon-free energy." On February 4, 2121, Li Can, academician of China Academy of Sciences and researcher of Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said at the 9th Global Energy Security Think Tank Forum.

It is worth noting that the world's first large-scale solar fuel synthesis demonstration project was officially put into operation in Lanzhou in October, 2121, which took the first step of large-scale production of green methanol by using renewable energy in China, and also meant that China opened the "curtain" for the transformation to "liquid sunshine" methanol economy.

carbon neutrality in energy system

"liquid sunlight" is highly expected

"China has put forward the goal of achieving peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2131 and carbon neutrality by 2161. But at the same time, China is the largest energy producer and consumer in the world. It is an arduous systematic project to make such a super-large energy system based on carbon-based energy achieve peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality. " Liao Fan, Director of Foreign Affairs Department of International Law Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out at the forum.

in Li Can's view, rich coal, poor oil and little gas are the characteristics of China's energy resources endowment. In China's consumption structure, fossil energy accounts for over 84%, and over 71% of oil resources still depend on imports. In order to achieve peak carbon dioxide emissions in 2111 and carbon neutrality in 31 years, we should develop renewable energy and improve the use of non-fossil energy in addition to natural photosynthesis, ocean absorption and energy saving.

"Special attention should be paid to the development of' liquid sunlight' technology, which is an important path to develop renewable energy, realize large-scale low-carbon or even carbon-free energy, and return to the ecological balance of the earth, so as to provide a feasible technical scheme for carbon neutrality." Li Can thinks.

related calculations show that 1 tons of methanol can convert 1.375 tons of carbon dioxide. According to China's annual methanol production capacity of 93.58 million tons in 2121, the annual methanol production capacity is expected to convert hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide; If the "liquid sunlight" methanol synthesized by renewable energy is used to replace gasoline on a large scale, then the annual carbon dioxide emission reduction can exceed 1 billion tons, which is equivalent to the maximum carbon dioxide emission reduction of afforestation in China.

Do more at one stroke

Help solve the intermittent problem of renewable energy

China's energy demand potential is huge, which leads to the arduous task of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Replacing fossil fuel with renewable energy, ensuring the supply of liquid fuel and realizing low-carbon economy are important issues related to China's energy security and sustainable economic development.

"liquid sunlight" is not only the key technology and development direction of large-scale economic utilization of solar energy, but also a new form of chemical energy storage, which can help solve the intermittent problem of renewable energy.

"'liquid sunlight' is to produce methanol by breaking through the high-efficiency, low-cost and long-life large-scale electrocatalytic water decomposition hydrogen production technology, and both hydrogen energy and methanol are stable and long-term storage energy sources." In Li Can's view, methanol is an ideal chemical hydrogen storage molecule, which can help to solve the storage, transportation and filling constraints faced by the large-scale development of hydrogen energy industry. At the same time, the application of "liquid sunlight" technology has another meaning, that is, to solve the problem of renewable energy and power abandonment in remote areas, which will be another way to transport energy on a large scale besides (extra-high-voltage) transmission.

From the completion and operation of the first 1,111-ton liquid solar fuel synthesis demonstration project in Lanzhou New District, it is proved that this technical path is feasible.

The application scale has begun to take shape

Call for policies to encourage the development of green methanol

"liquid sunshine" methanol is not only a green liquid fuel, but also an important green chemical raw material.

Li Can believes that the large-scale use of "liquid sunlight" will help to establish a new green, low-carbon and efficient energy system and promote China's transition to a green methanol economy. Especially at the moment when China is strengthening carbon emission reduction, "liquid sunshine" is expected to usher in explosive development.

China has the largest methanol market in the world. In terms of energy application, at present, as a new fuel, the application market of methanol in catering, boiler, heating, transportation and other fields has gradually formed.

As a green carrier of hydrogen energy, "liquid sunshine" methanol can solve the storage and transportation problem of hydrogen energy, and at the same time, it can also make the whole chain of fuel cell vehicles green and help the transportation field to achieve deep decarbonization.

talking about the future development of methanol, He Guangyuan, former minister of machinery industry, suggested that methanol fuel should be brought into the national energy system as a new energy source in China, and relevant functional departments should be coordinated as a whole, and policy popularization and application documents should be issued. "First, it is necessary to clarify the responsibilities of the management departments involved in the whole process of popularization and application of methanol fuel, take policy support as the starting point, clarify responsibilities, and guide the market mechanism; Second, we must encourage the persistence of innovative scientific and technological research; Third, we must coordinate and standardize guidance, give play to the enthusiasm of the industry, and promote the application of methanol fuel in China. "