Contribution of sustainable fuels for the future of the energy sector

Abstract

The main driving forces of the development of alternative energy are growing energy demand combined with the search for energy independence and environmental issues, such as global warming. Throughout this chapter, the sustainability of the currently most used alternative fuels, their characteristics, applica- tions, global consumption, and demand data will be discussed. The different strategies and policies for the adoption of renewable energies also will be discussed. Fuels are compared by their contributions to the development of the circularity of the energy sector, by the feedstock and process efficiency. The advantages, disadvantages, and barriers that each one presents are evaluated to better understand which are the most promising and how their production and consumption can be increased. The aim of this chapter is to present the potential alternative fuels within their applications and analyze their contribu- tion to make the energy sector more circular and sustainable.