Comprehensive integration of the non-energy demand within a whole-energy system: Towards a defossilisation of the chemical industry in Belgium

Today, non-energy use (e.g. production of plastics or fertilizers) represents about 10% of the final energy consumed worldwide and is dominated by petroleum products, natural gas and coal. However, due to complex flows of materials and ambiguities between net and gross energy in non-energy data sets, this sector is generally misunderstood. The defossilisation of this sector requires to properly define the lever of actions: can we use renewable alternatives to the currently used fossil fuels as direct inputs to this sector? Can the use of these alternatives in the non-energy demand be more effi... Mehr ...