Hydrogen import pathway comparison framework incorporating cost and social preference: Case studies from Australia to Japan

Chapman, Andrew; Fraser, Timothy; Itaoka, Kenshi

doi:10.1002/er.3807

Cited by 47 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…A simple solution consists in harvesting renewable resources in remote areas where they are abundant, synthesising carbonneutral fuels or feedstocks using renewable electricity and transporting them back to demand centres (Fasihi and Bogdanov, 2015;Chapman et al, 2017;Heuser et al, 2019). However, two conditions must be satisfied for such an approach to be worth pursuing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote Renewable Hubs for Carbon-Neutral Synthetic Fuel Production

Berger

Radu

Detienne³

et al. 2021

Front. Energy Res.

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This paper studies the economics of carbon-neutral synthetic fuel production from renewable electricity in remote areas where high-quality renewable resources are abundant. To this end, a graph-based optimisation modelling framework directly applicable to the strategic planning of remote renewable energy supply chains is proposed. More precisely, a hypergraph abstraction of planning problems is introduced, wherein nodes can be viewed as optimisation subproblems with their own parameters, variables, constraints and local objective. Nodes typically represent a subsystem such as a technology, a plant or a process. Hyperedges, on the other hand, express the connectivity between subsystems. The framework is leveraged to study the economics of carbon-neutral synthetic methane production from solar and wind energy in North Africa and its delivery to Northwestern European markets. The full supply chain is modelled in an integrated fashion, which makes it possible to accurately capture the interaction between various technologies on an hourly time scale. Results suggest that the cost of synthetic methane production and delivery would be slightly under 150 €/MWh (higher heating value) by 2030 for a system supplying 10 TWh annually and relying on a combination of solar photovoltaic and wind power plants, assuming a uniform weighted average cost of capital of 7%. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis is also carried out in order to assess the impact of various techno-economic parameters and assumptions on synthetic methane cost, including the availability of wind power plants, the investment costs of electrolysis, methanation and direct air capture plants, their operational flexibility, the energy consumption of direct air capture plants, and financing costs. The most expensive configuration (around 200 €/MWh) relies on solar photovoltaic power plants alone, while the cheapest configuration (around 88 €/MWh) makes use of a combination of solar PV and wind power plants and is obtained when financing costs are set to zero.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote Renewable Hubs for Carbon-Neutral Synthetic Fuel Production

Berger

Radu

Detienne³

et al. 2021

Front. Energy Res.

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“…It is perhaps worth noting also that the initial focus is on supply chain development rather than on emissions free hydrogen from purely renewable energy. Two demonstration projects are being developed based on natural gas reforming in Brunei and brown coal gasification in Australia's Latrobe Valley [17,18]. Fully fledged operation of the supply chains, distribution systems, and thermal power generation was anticipated by 2030.…”

Section: Fourth Strategic Energy Plan and The Anticipated Role Of Hydrogenmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Zealand Perspective on Hydrogen as an Export Commodity: Timing of Market Development and an Energy Assessment of Hydrogen Carriers

Hinkley

2021

Energies

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Hydrogen is currently receiving significant attention and investment as a key enabler of defossilised global energy systems. Many believe this will eventually result in the international trade of hydrogen as a commodity from countries with significant renewable energy resources, for example New Zealand and Australia, to net energy importing countries including Japan and Korea. Japan has, since 2014, been actively exploring the components of the necessary supply chains, including the assessment of different hydrogen carriers. Public/private partnerships have invested in demonstration projects to assess the comparative merits of liquid hydrogen, ammonia, and organic carriers. On the supply side, significant projects have been proposed in Australia while the impending closure of New Zealand’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter at the end of 2024 may provide an opportunity for green hydrogen production. However, it is also evident that the transition to a hydrogen economy will take some years and confidence around the timing of supply and demand capacity is essential for new energy infrastructure investment. This paper reviews the expected development of an export market to Japan and concludes that large scale imports are unlikely before the late 2020s. Comparative evaluation of the energy efficiency of various hydrogen carriers concludes that it is too early to call a winner, but that ammonia has key advantages as a fungible commodity today, while liquid hydrogen has the potential to be a more efficient energy carrier. Ultimately it will be the delivered cost of hydrogen that will determine which carriers are used, and while energy efficiency is a key metric, there are other considerations such as infrastructure availability, and capital and operating costs.

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“…Unlike electricity, hydrogen can be shipped across long distances internationally, creating the potential for global supply chains. 91 Pipelines also provide the opportunity for hydrogen transportation, and there is interest in both purpose-built hydrogen pipelines and repurposing existing natural gas grids. 37 At a smaller scale, hydrogen can also be transported on road by truck.…”

Section: Scenarios Must Be Designed Appropriatelymentioning

confidence: 99%