Production technologies for supplying renewable fuels
Renewable fuels can be supplied in a variety of processes. The diversity of the production options can be seen in the following figure, which shows the links between production technologies, the respective resources used, the associated technological readiness level and the resulting fuels. Furthermore, (potential) points of intersection and connection between the technologies are shown.
© DBFZ 2023, Hauschild, S.; Costa de Paiva, G.; Neuling, U.; Zitscher, T.; Köchermann, J; Görsch, K. (2023): Production technologies for supplying renewable fuels. In: 10.48480/4xdx-xy05 Figure 3-1
During development of a technology the phases of research, demonstration and market establishment are passed. Due to the different resources used, the actors involved and the existing risk, the introduction of new technologies should be classified according to appropriate development levels. The most common system for this classification is the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) designed by NASA. The system is divided into nine levels corresponding to basic research (TRL 1 to 2), applied research (TRL 2 to 5), technical development (TRL 5 to 8) and market readiness (TRL 8 to 9). In addition, the IEA has introduced two further levels to describe market integration (TRL 10) and market stability (TRL 11), which is used in the DBFZ Report No. 44.
The market introduction of new fuels requires a different classification than those described in the TRL system. For example, fuel certification/standardisation and in-vehicle application testing ("no harm" and "fit for purpose" tests) are important parts. An adapted system – the Fuel Readiness Level (FRL) – was developed by the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) to capture the requirements for the development and market introduction of alternative aviation fuels. The FRL system has nine stages and includes the development cycles for fuel production (FRL 1-5), fuel certification (FRL 6 to 7), suitability and compatibility for use in aircraft (FRL 4 to 7), and commercialization of the production technology (FRL 8 to 9).
The FRL system, although developed specifically for the aviation sector, can also be used, with minor modifications, to describe the stage of development of fuels in other sectors. Therefore, TRL and FRL can be used complementarily to describe the readiness of a fuel production process and fuel use. However, the establishment of the fuel production process and fuel use do not take place in parallel; their overlaps are shown in the figure below, which has been expanded compared to the DBFZ Report No. 44.
© DBFZ 2023, Hauschild, S.; Costa de Paiva, G.; Neuling, U.; Zitscher, T.; Köchermann, J; Görsch, K. (2023): Production technologies for supplying renewable fuels. In: 10.48480/4xdx-xy05 Figure 3-2