A New Perspective for Climate Change Mitigation—Introducing Carbon-Negative Hydrogen Production from Biomass with Carbon Capture and Storage (HyBECCS)

Abstract

The greatest lever for advancing climate adaptation and mitigation is the defossilization of energy systems. A key opportunity to replace fossil fuels across sectors is the use of renewable hydrogen. In this context, the main political and social push is currently on climate neutral hydrogen (H2) production through electrolysis using renewable electricity. Another climate neutral possibility that has recently gained importance is biohydrogen production from biogenic residual and waste materials. This paper introduces for the first time a novel concept for the production of hydrogen with net negative emissions. The derived concept combines biohydrogen production using biotechnological or thermochemical processes with carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage. Various process combinations referred to this basic approach are defined as HyBECCS (Hydrogen Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage) and described in this paper. The technical principles and resulting advantages of the novel concept are systematically derived and compared with other Negative Emission Technologies (NET). These include the high concentration and purity of the CO2 to be captured compared to Direct Air Carbon Capture (DAC) and Post-combustion Carbon Capture (PCC) as well as the emission-free use of hydrogen resulting in a higher possible CO2 capture rate compared to hydrocarbon-based biofuels generated with Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technologies. Further, the role of carbon-negative hydrogen in future energy systems is analyzed, taking into account key societal and technological drivers against the background of climate adaptation and mitigation. For this purpose, taking the example of the Federal Republic of Germany, the ecological impacts are estimated, and an economic assessment is made. For the production and use of carbon-negative hydrogen, a saving potential of 8.49–17.06 MtCO2,eq/a is estimated for the year 2030 in Germany. The production costs for carbon-negative hydrogen would have to be below 4.30 € per kg in a worst-case scenario and below 10.44 € in a best-case scenario in order to be competitive in Germany, taking into account hydrogen market forecasts.

Carbon-Negative Hydrogen Production (HyBECCS) from Organic Waste Materials in Germany: How to Estimate Bioenergy and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential

“…Each technology is briefly described in 2.2.1. Further, in 2.2.2., the HyBECCS approach is presented, which is, at present, the only known way to produce hydrogen with a negative carbon footprint [4].…”

“…Utilizing waste materials for biohydrogen production offers several benefits, as it increases the economic and ecological potential, avoids competitive land use, and represents another step towards a circular economy. According to Full et al the ecological benefits for climate change mitigation can be further increased by capturing the produced biogenic CO 2 during the process and thereby achieving biohydrogen production as a carbon-negative process [4]. This means a net effect of CO 2 being removed from-rather than emitted to-the atmosphere during energy generation.…”

“…This means a net effect of CO 2 being removed from-rather than emitted to-the atmosphere during energy generation. This NET approach of carbonnegative hydrogen production by capturing biogenic CO 2 during biohydrogen processes is referred to as hydrogen bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (HyBECCS) [4].…”

“…A common way of producing bioenergy is the production of biomethane [6]. Biohydrogen production with additional carbon capture and storage or long-term use (HyBECCS) presents an alternative to biogas and -methane production and allows the generation of a carbonnegative product with growing demand [4,7]. The development of HyBECCS processes can additionally contribute to the global climate goals by creating negative emissions.…”

Principles and Design Strategies for Ultra‐efficient Production Systems in the Process Industry

“…Additionally, the recovery of chemical energy from waste streams, e.g., in the form of biohydrogen, is subsumed under the exchange of waste materials from one company to another [52][53][54]. If biogenic residues are used, it is even possible to produce carbon-negative hydrogen, by which companies can compensate unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions [73]. The exchange of materials within a chemical park respectively the process industry in general is much more common than in the unit goods industry.…”