arXiv subjects

Victor Dachet

Publications and source records attributed to Victor Dachet.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Remote Renewable Energy Hubs: a Taxonomy

Serving the energy demand with renewable energy is hindered by its limited availability near load centres (i.e. places where the energy demand is high). To address this challenge, the concept of Remote Renewable Energy Hubs (RREH) emerges as a promising solution. RREHs are energy hubs located in areas with abundant renewable energy sources, such as sun in the Sahara Desert or wind in Greenland. In these hubs, renewable energy sources are used to synthetise energy molecules. To produce specific energy molecules, a tailored hub configuration must be designed, which means choosing a set of technologies that are interacting with each other as well as defining how they are integrated in their local environment. The plurality of technologies that may be employed in RREHs results in a large diversity of hubs. In order to characterize this diversity, we propose in this paper a taxonomy for accurately defining these hubs. This taxonomy allows to better describe and compare designs of hubs as well as to identify new ones. Thus, it may guide policymakers and engineers in hub design, contributing to cost efficiency and/or improving local integration.

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arXiv2025

Ammonia, Methane, Hydrogen and Methanol Produced in Remote Renewable Energy Hubs: a Comparative Quantitative Analysis

Remote renewable energy hubs (RREHs) for synthetic fuel production are engineering systems harvesting renewable energy where it is particularly abundant. They produce transportable synthetic fuels for export to distant load centers. This article aims to evaluate the production costs of different energy carriers, and includes a discussion on advantages and disadvantages in terms of technical performance. To do so, we extend the study of Berger et al., (2021) which focuses on methane (CH4) as energy carrier and introduce three new carriers: ammonia (NH3), hydrogen (H2) and methanol (CH3OH). The four different RREHs are located in the Algerian Sahara desert and must serve to the load center, Belgium, a constant electro-fuel demand of 10 TWh per year. The modelling and optimisation of these systems are performed using the modelling language GBOML (Graph-Based Optimisation Modelling Language). Our findings reveal that the three new RREHs, each with its respective carrier (ammonia, hydrogen, and methanol), are all more cost-effective than the methane-based system. Ammonia demonstrates the most favourable cost-to-energy exported ratio.

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arXiv2023

Synthetic methane for closing the carbon loop: Comparative study of three carbon sources for remote carbon-neutral fuel synthetization

Achieving carbon neutrality is probably one of the most important challenges of the 21st century for our societies. Part of the solution to this challenge is to leverage renewable energies. However, these energy sources are often located far away from places that need the energy, and their availability is intermittent, which makes them challenging to work with. In this paper, we build upon the concept of Remote Renewable Energy Hubs (RREHs), which are hubs located at remote places with abundant renewable energy sources whose purpose is to produce carbon-neutral synthetic fuels. More precisely, we model and study the Energy Supply Chain (ESC) that would be required to provide a constant source of carbon-neutral synthetic methane, also called e-NG (electric Natural Gas) or e-methane (electric methane), in Belgium from an RREH located in Morocco. To be carbon neutral, a synthetic fuel has to be produced from existing carbon dioxide (CO2) that needs to be captured using either Direct Air Capture (DAC) or Post Combustion Carbon Capture (PCCC). In this work, we detail the impact of three different carbon sourcing configurations on the price of the e-methane delivered in Belgium. Our results show that sourcing CO2 through a combination of DAC and PCCC is more cost-effective, resulting in a cost of 146 e/MWh for e-methane delivered in Belgium, as opposed to relying solely on DAC, which leads to a cost of 158 e/MWh. Moreover, these scenarios are compared to a scenario where CO2 is captured in Morocco from a CO2 emitting asset that allows to deliver e-methane for a cost of 136 e/MWh.

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arXiv2023

Towards CO2 valorization in a multi remote renewable energy hub framework

In this paper, we propose a multi-RREH (Remote Renewable Energy Hub) based optimization framework. This framework allows a valorization of CO2 using carbon capture technologies. This valorization is grounded on the idea that CO2 gathered from the atmosphere or post combustion can be combined with hydrogen to produce synthetic methane. The hydrogen is obtained from water electrolysis using renewable energy (RE). Such renewable energy is generated in RREHs, which are locations where RE is cheap and abundant (e.g., solar PV in the Sahara Desert, or wind in Greenland). We instantiate our framework on a case study focusing on Belgium and 2 RREHs, and we conduct a techno-economic analysis. This analysis highlights the key role played by the cost of the two main carbon capture technologies: Post Combustion Carbon Capture (PCCC) and Direct Air Capture (DAC). In addition, we use our framework to derive a carbon price threshold above which carbon capture technologies may start playing a pivotal role in the decarbonation process of our industries. For example, this price threshold may give relevant information for calibrating the EU Emission Trading System so as to trigger the emergence of the multi-RREH.

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