Glossary

Energy and electricity are often used as synonyms, although electricity is only one of the many forms of energy. While the share of renewable energies (including wind, photovoltaics and biogas) accounted for approx. 47% of the electricity generation in Germany in 2020, they represented only about 16% of the total primary energy consumption. In industry, commerce, transport, etc., other forms of energy different than electricity are therefore also required.
In order to achieve a successful energy transition and greenhouse gas neutrality, it is necessary to replace the fossil energy sources, which are currently being used. Through Power-to-X ("electricity to X-any") technologies, some of these material-based energy sources can be produced with renewable electricity.
These and other important explanations are listed below and sorted analogously to the structure of the tool. If you have any further questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

General

Energy	Energy is a physical quantity that has the ability to do work. Energy can exist in many forms, including mechanical, chemical and electrical. One form of energy can be converted into another (mostly with some losses). In this way, the chemical energy contained in an energy carrier (e.g., natural gas, fuel) can be converted into thermal or mechanical energy.
Electricity	Electrical energy that is generated by the movement of electrical charge carriers (e.g., electrons).
Heat	Thermal energy transferred between two systems at different temperatures.
Power-to-X (PtX)	PtX describes technologies in which electricity (power) can be converted into other products. The "X" can stand for the end product (e.g. power-to-ammonia, power-to-methanol) or for the form of energy (e.g., power-to-gas, power-to-liquid, power-to-chemicals). Not all sectors can be directly electrified, which is why climate-friendly manufacturing routes must be researched and further developed for a large number of the products used today (some of which contain carbon).
Power-to-Gas (PtG)	"Storage" of electrical energy as gas (hydrogen, ammonia, methane, etc.).
Power-to-Liquid (PtL)	Convertion to liquid fuels, including kerosene, gasoline, methanol, etc.
PtX electricity	This refers to the fraction of electricity available for the synthesis of PtX products. Generally, the country's specific electricity demand is first substracted from the renewable electricity potential. The remaining amount is divided into the different sub-processes for PtX production.
Electricity demand	A country's electricity demand includes all processes that can be operated directly with electricity.
Usable share	This selection in the tool describes which share (percentage) of the PtX electricity should be used for the production of the selected PtX product.
Basic resources	In this context, resources that are required for the production of PtX products: electricity, water and (in most cases) CO₂.
Supply potential	Quantity of a given PtX product that can be produced with the available basic resources and under certain conditions.
Demand potential	Need for basic resources to meet the demand of a particular PtX product.
Bottom-Up approach	With this approach, the real needs and potentials of a country are determined, for example, through discussions with local experts, before scaling up to larger regions or the entire country.
Top-Down approach	The first step in this approach is to determine the potential from the technical level, e.g., the determination of national power generation potentials based on weather data. Only after that, local and regional conditions are taken into account. The tool follos a top-down approach.

Electricity sources

Biomass	Electricity generated from wood and waste/residues of biogenic origin, among others. This can be done by direct combustion of the biomass or of the products derived from it (such as biogas or bioethanol).
Geothermal energy	Use of thermal energy stored in the earth's crust to generate electricity.
Photovoltaics, PV	Electrical energy obtained from solar radiation, both in open spaces and on roof surfaces.
Hydropower	Use of the potential or kinetic energy of water to generate electrical energy.
Windpower (onshore/offshore)	Electrical energy generated from wind. A distinction is made between wind turbines that are located on land (onshore) or in the sea (offshore).
Non-renewable energies	Electricity generated from fossil sources, e.g. lignite and hard coal, oil and gas, but also nuclear energy.

Water sources

Fresh water	Water resources that contain no or very little salt. In the tool, it is assumed that these water sources can be used directly as process water.
Salt water	Seawater which must be desalinated before it can be used for hydrogen electrolysis.

CO₂-sources

DAC	The Direct Air Capture (separation of CO₂ from the ambient air) describes a process to capture CO₂ from the atmosphere, which can be used for various purposes.
Industrial point sources	Stationary processes from industry that generate CO₂ emissions. In the potential analysis, different sources were taken into account, which are listed in the tool description. The CO₂ emissions from these processes can be captured, purified and then used for various downstream processes.
Biogenic point sources	Stationary CO₂ emissions of biogenic origin, which can be captured, purified and subsequently used for various downstream processes. These include, among others, CO₂ released during alcoholic fermentation (production of bioethanol) or the fermentation of crop plants (in biogas plants).

Products

Hydrogen	Green hydrogen produced from renewable energies is CO₂-free and therefore a very important building block for achieving the Paris climate protection agreement. Hydrogen can be used in many sectors such as the chemical industry, the transport sector or as an alternative fuel to the fossil variants. Most PtX products are based on hydrogen.
Ammonia	Ammonia is the world's second most produced basic chemical and is mainly used as a feedstock in fertilizers production. Ammonia is responsible for approx. 1-3 % of CO₂ emissions in this sector and therefore has a high savings potential via the PtX route. In addition, as a cost-effective liquid energy carrier, it is ideal for long-term storage, easy to handle during transport and is also a viable marine fuel.
Methanol	Methanol is one of the most widely produced chemicals. Climate-neutral production of this basic material would reduce the carbon footprint of many other downstream products, for example the polymer industry. As a liquid, it is easier to handle compared to hydrogen and can also be used as a fuel in engines.
Fischer-Tropsch	This large-scale process refers to the production of hydrocarbons from a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Different products can be obtained at different ratios, depending on the reaction conditions. These include gasoline, diesel, naphtha, kerosene and waxes.
FT-Diesel	The diesel produced by the Fischer-Tropsch process can be used in diesel engines and offers an alternative for equipment and vehicles that cannot be directly electrified.
FT-Gasoline	The gasoline produced by the Fischer-Tropsch process can be used in gasoline engines and offers an alternative for vehicles that cannot be directly electrified, particularly in the transport sector.
FT-Naphtha	Naphtha produced by the Fischer-Tropsh process can offer an alternative to fossil naphtha in the chemical industry. Naphtha can be used as a feedstock to produce many chemicals (including ethylene and propylene) and polymers.
FT-Kerosene	The kerosene produced by Fischer Tropsch process can be used in airplanes in which propulsion with electricity or hydrogen is not possible.
DMC	Dimethyl carbonate can be produced synthetically from H₂ and CO₂ and used as a fuel in gasoline engines. In the NAMOSYN project, a mixture of DMC and MeFo is being considered as a gasoline fuel.
MeFo	Methyl formate can be produced synthetically from H₂ and CO₂ and used as a fuel in gasoline engines. In the NAMOSYN project, it is considered as a drop-in component (5% by volume) into conventional gasoline (or other synthetic gasoline fuel) or in a blend with DMC.
OME	Oxymethylene ether can be produced synthetically from H₂ and CO₂ and used as a fuel in diesel engines. In the NAMOSYN project, it is considered as a pure fuel and as a drop-in component (5 % by volume) in conventional diesel (or other synthetic diesel fuel).
PME-Polyols	PME polyols are based on the climate-friendly synthesis route via para-formaldehyde and form a more sustainable alternative to polyurethane, which is used in the plastics industry.