A blueprint for the cost-effective production of eco-friendly green hydrogen

A analysis staff from the Korea Institute of Power Analysis (KIER) has performed an financial evaluation of water electrolysis, a key know-how for future eco-friendly hydrogen manufacturing, and introduced optimum operation methods to maximise effectivity and cut back prices. The research is published within the journal Power Conversion and Administration.

Inexperienced hydrogen, thought-about a key eco-friendly gasoline of the longer term, is primarily produced utilizing two applied sciences: alkaline water electrolysis and proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis. Amongst these, alkaline water electrolysis is essentially the most broadly commercialized know-how, because it permits the low-cost, large-scale manufacturing of hydrogen. Nonetheless, it requires a excessive and steady energy provide to function, making it troublesome to successfully couple with renewable energy sourceswhich regularly generate electrical energy intermittently.

Within the case of PEM water electrolysis, hydrogen will be produced even with a comparatively small energy provide, permitting it to function solely on renewable vitality. Nonetheless, its drawbacks embrace excessive preliminary set up prices and a decrease stage of technological maturity in comparison with alkaline water electrolysis. These challenges make it troublesome to construct a inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing infrastructure counting on only one know-how.

To deal with this, the analysis staff performed a comparative evaluation of the technical traits and financial feasibility of alkaline water electrolysis and PEM water electrolysis, finally deriving optimum operation methods. Particularly, they proposed that essentially the most cost-effective method is to make use of the prevailing energy grid as a supplemental energy supply to offer a steady electrical energy provide for working alkaline water electrolysis techniques.

If a steady energy provide just isn’t maintained for alkaline water electrolysis techniques, repeated start-up and shutdown cycles could cause degradation, lowering each the system’s lifespan and effectivity. To beat this, it’s important to repeatedly provide energy utilizing auxiliary sources equivalent to vitality storage techniques (ESS).

In line with the analysis staff’s evaluation, when utilizing renewable vitality mixed with an vitality storage system (ESS) as a backup energy supply, the hydrogen manufacturing value was estimated at as much as $8.60 per kilogram. In distinction, securing supplementary energy from the prevailing fossil fuel-based energy grid may cut back the fee to round $6.60 per kilogram.

Whereas, for now, linking to the prevailing energy grid is the extra economical choice, this method doesn’t resolve environmental considerations. In the long run, the research means that lowering ESS prices and growing the share of carbon-free energy sources—equivalent to biomass and nuclear energy—might be important to attaining each financial and environmental sustainability in hydrogen manufacturing.

For PEM water electrolysis, the analysis staff prompt that making use of {an electrical} overload may really enhance financial effectivity. It is because PEM techniques are able to overload operation, permitting extra energy past the required quantity to be provided with the intention to enhance hydrogen manufacturing. The evaluation confirmed that by boosting renewable vitality output and supplying 1.5 occasions the required energy, the hydrogen manufacturing value may very well be diminished to as little as $5.80 per kilogram.

Primarily based on these findings, the analysis staff concluded that PEM water electrolysis is the best option in environments with a excessive share of renewable vitality and a steady energy provide. In different instances, the best method is to mix alkaline water electrolysis with a carbon-free energy grid.

Moreover, the analysis staff proposed an optimum water electrolysis-based hydrogen manufacturing mixture tailor-made to Korea’s vitality panorama. Primarily based on an evaluation utilizing meteorological knowledge from Jeju Island, the research discovered that, sooner or later, a steady hydrogen provide at roughly $4 per kilogram may very well be achieved by combining a 100-megawatt (MW) water electrolysis system with 100 MW of offshore wind energy and 100 MW of solar energy.

Dr. Joungho Park, who led the research at KIER, acknowledged, “This analysis is important in that it clearly analyzes the technical variations between alkaline and PEM water electrolysis and presents optimum design and operation methods tailor-made to completely different vitality environments.

“We anticipate these findings to function a invaluable reference for choosing applied sciences and guiding investment decisions when constructing hydrogen manufacturing techniques utilizing renewable vitality sooner or later.”