Producing renewable e-methanol from e-hydrogen and diverse carbon sources is an essential way for clean methanol preparation. Despite this, the technical and economic feasibility of different e-methanols has yet to be thoroughly compared, leaving the most promising pathway to achieve commercialization yet evident. This paper reports a preliminary analysis of the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and costs of four renewable e-methanols with different carbon sources: bio-carbon, direct air capture (DAC), fossil fuel carbon capture (FFCC), and fossil. The results indicate that renewable e-methanol costs (4167−10250 CNY/tonne) 2−4 times the market rate of grey methanol. However, with the carbon tax and the projected decline in e-H₂ costs, blue e-methanol may initially replace diesel in inland navigation, followed by a shift from heavy fuel oil (HFO) to green e-methanol in ocean shipping. Furthermore, the e-H₂ cost and the availability of green carbon are vital factors affecting cost-effectiveness. A reduction in e-H₂ cost from 2.1 CNY/Nm³ to 1.1 CNY/Nm³ resulting from a transition from an annual to a daily scheduling period, could lower e-methanol costs by 1200 to 2100 CNY. This paper also provides an in-depth discussion on the challenges and opportunities associated with the various green carbon sources.

Decarbonizing power systems is crucial to mitigating climate change impacts and achieving carbon neutrality. Increasing renewable energy supply can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the decarbonization process. However, renewable energy sources (RESs) such as wind and solar power are characterized by intermittency and often non-dispatchability, significantly challenging their high-level integration into power systems. Energy storage is acknowledged as a vital indispensable solution for mitigating the intermittency of renewables such as wind and solar power and boosting the penetrations of renewables. In the CSEE JPES Forum, five well-known experts were invited to give keynote speeches, and the participating experts and scholars had comprehensive exchanges and discussions on energy storage technologies. Specifically, the views on the design, control, performance, and applications of new energy storage technologies, such as the fuel cell vehicle, water electrolysis, and flow battery, in the coordination and operation of power and energy systems were analyzed. The experts also provided experience that could be used to develop energy storage for constructing and decarbonizing new power systems.