According to the Scientific Service of the German Bundestag, the energy transition will cost around €13.3 trillion by 2045, more than three times the gross domestic product. The assumption made there that renewable electrical energy is available almost all the time is misleading. It ignores the importance of the thermodynamic potential of fuels for grid stability. Analogous to the formation of fossil fuels, the natural carbon cycle can be replicated at high process speeds using solar cells, CO₂, H₂O, and a gas generator to produce syngas (CH₄, C₂H₄, etc.). This means that the existing infrastructure can continue to be used with this CO₂-emission-free cycle without major changes, and a secure feed-in of solar power can be guaranteed.

Syngas is produced in a highly efficient, thermodynamically optimized two-stage E-Hy-BOX gas generator concept, with significant improvements in efficiency of up to 90%. The electricity consumption for water evaporation (15%) is avoided through the use of waste heat and heat pumps. O₂ removal during methanation by additional H₂ to form H₂O is replaced by a staged reactor with electrochemical O₂ removal, and the unused recovery potential during thermal methanation is utilized by H₂ feed with a fuel cell injector. The design, which has been adopted from steam boiler construction, reduces the innovation risk of the plant concept and enables operating pressures of up to 180 bar with proven designs. This carbon cycle enables CO₂ emission targets to be achieved without expensive infrastructure changes, because CO₂ remains in the cycle as a raw material.

Unlike batteries, the carbon cycle uses the existing natural gas infrastructure, including storage facilities. While cost estimates for batteries for 2050 are around €80/kWh, they are €0.7/kWh for this carbon cycle for gas generators and gas power plants (1000 TWh/a and 150 GW generation capacity). Better system integration for heat utilization, for example through combined heat and power, compensates for the better electrical efficiency of batteries. Further advantages of the carbon cycle are the availability of renewable raw materials, including hydrogen, the easy integration of plastic recycling, and a secure energy supply.

The investment costs of Solar100's own solar-based concept for a carbon cycle economy for 3,400 TWh amount to around €2 trillion, compared to €13.3 trillion for the energy transition. This is because, in this CO₂-emission-free cycle, improving the energy efficiency of the infrastructure cannot further reduce CO₂ emissions. fewer batteries are required, the system design has been optimized to meet demand, and Solar100 has clarified the uncertainties regarding the energy supply requirements of a national economy and the potential applications of a pure electricity economy. Syngas and natural gas can be used together in the existing gas network and enable a flexible supply of renewable and fossil fuels in line with market conditions and political objectives.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387952499_LINKS_to_All_Presentations_-_Energy_Transition_-_Opportunity_or_Decline
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382236409_Theory_and_Application_of_Carbon_Circular_Economy_on_Energy_Transition