Renewable hydrogen imports for the German energy transition – A comparative life cycle assessment

Life-cycle global warming impact of hydrogen transport through pipelines from Africa to Germany

“…Domestically produced hydrogen from PV in Germany also shows a higher GWP than liquid hydrogen imports. 13…”

“…Domestically produced hydrogen from PV in Germany also shows a higher GWP than liquid hydrogen imports. 13 The GWP of hydrogen per kg of this study can be recalculated to kW h using a lower heat value of 33.3 kW h per kg H 2 in order to compare it to other fossil fuels such as natural gas. The GWP of 0.04-0.050 kg CO 2 -eq per kW h for the Moroccan export to Germany and 0.06-0.07 kg CO 2 -eq per kW h for German domestic production is concluded for the baseline scenario of this research aer recalculation of the FU.…”

“…These results show that one ecologically beneficial pathway is PV-powered electrolysis transported through pipelines. Kolb et al , 13 studied liquid hydrogen imports to Germany. Ozawa et al , 14 Al-Breiki & Bicer 15 analyzed the GWP of hydrogen for overseas shipping, albeit only in liquid form.…”

Towards importing renewable hydrogen within planetary boundaries

“…Using pipelines instead of shipping in the hydrogen import pathway reduces the LCOH by 31% and lessens the impact on the PB control variables by 29%. This is mainly because it avoids the energy-intensive hydrogen liquefaction (13.8 kWh/kg H2 [5]). In the case of methane, pipeline cost and impacts are similar to the shipping route.…”

“…Next to the cost-effectiveness, renewable hydrogen imports should also yield a diminished environmental impact compared to traditional hydrogen production methods [4]. However, Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) primarily focus on the local production of renewable hydrogen, with limited attention given to international supply chains [5].…”