10. Hydrogen Production

• Hydrogen, the most common element on earth, is widely seen as the ultimate form of clean energy.

• The first commercial technology, dating from the late 1920s, was the electrolysis of water to produce pure hydrogen.

• Interest in hydrogen energy arose from the shortfall in fossil fuels – especially oil – around mid-1970s.

• it is universally available in the form of water

• it may be transmitted over long distances in buried pipelines, which are cheaper to construct and operate than electricity grids, and have no visual impact

• hydrogen is the ideal fuel for use in fuel cells to regenerate electricity

• hydrogen is oxidised cleanly to water; therefore, the cycle is closed

• Algea

• gas

• oil

• wood

• Power (Water electolyis form renewables)

• Coal

• Natural gas is the primary source of hydrogen accounting for about 70% of total hydrogen manufactured.

• Key methods of hydrogen production from natural gas, Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) Partial Oxidation (POX) Methane pyrolysis

• SMR Reaction where methane gets converted to carbon monoxide and hydrogen by reacting with steam under high pressure and temperature with a catalyst in a steam methane reformer unit

• Produces syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) through the reaction of light hydrocarbons (typically methane) with water

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) is generated and released into the atmosphere

Methane and other hydrocarbons in natural gas react with a limited amount of oxygen (not enough to completely oxidize the hydrocarbons to carbon dioxide and water)

The reaction produces mainly hydrogen and carbon monoxide (and nitrogen, if the reaction is carried out with air rather than pure oxygen) and a small amount of carbon dioxide and other compounds

A highly endothermic (requiring a lot of energy) process

• Methane is split into gaseous hydrogen and solid carbon

• The heat needed to drive the process may come from various sources—combustion of hydrocarbons, concentrated solar heat, electricity or another heat source

Step 1:

Through gasification, coal gets to turn into a very hot

synthesis gas (Syngas) at a temperature of around

1800°C which is a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen

and carbon dioxide along with other trace gases such as

Sulfur Dioxide and particulate matter

Step 2:

In the next stage, syngas is cooled and cleaned to

remove trace gases and particles. In this process sulfur,

mercury, particulate matter and other contaminations are

removed

Step 3:

Then cleaned syngas is transferred to the shift reactor.

Through shift reaction, CO is converted to CO2 and

afterwards the product stream is mostly H2 and CO2

Step 4:

Finally, CO2 and H2 are separated into two streams. If

the plant is equipped with Carbon Capturing Storage and

Utilize (CCSU) technology, CO2 is captured, stored and

utilized

Hydrogen is obtained through the process of electrolysis where electricity is used to split water into its components – oxygen and hydrogen.

Key methods of hydrogen production from water

- Alkaline Electrolysis

- Proton-Exchange Membrane (PEM)

- Solid Oxide Electrolysers

• This technology applies a solution that requires recirculating of the electrolyte (potassium hydroxide (KOH)) into and out the stack components to separate hydrogen from water molecules by applying electricity

• It requires the constant flow of power, so it is less efficient with variable renewable energy sources

• A modern electrolyser technology

• higher efficiency and production rates.

• In this technology, a solid membrane is used to separate hydrogen. This technology is more simple and agile compared to alkaline electrolysis

• Solid Oxide Electrolysers Cells (SOECs) facilitate the electrolysis of water vapor (H₂O) by passing an electric current through the solid oxide electrolyte. This process meticulously separates water into hydrogen gas (H₂) and oxygen gas (O₂).​

Hydrogen Production:

The hallmark application of SOECs lies in their efficient production

of hydrogen. Capitalizing on high conversion efficiency, SOECs offer

a clean and versatile solution for various industries, including

transportation and industrial processes

Biohydrogen is the source of energy that uses living microorganisms to make hydrogen via biological processes

Nuclear power is an important source of low-carbon electricity and heat

Nuclear power heat and electricity are attractive for hydrogen production as they provide continuous, low-carbon baseload electricity and heat suited for industrial hydrogen production

Power-to-X (PtX or P2X) refers to innovative conversion technologies that turn renewable electricity into various synthetic and low carbon fuels – such as hydrogen, sustainable aviation and maritime fuels, synthetic natural gas, liquid fuels or chemicals which can be used to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors or stored for later use

• Environmental (energy, Cabon cycle, recycling,…)

• Governance (stability, transparency, standards,…)

• Economic (value added, trade, investment, …)

• Social (jobs, skills, human rights,…)

• The European Commission (EC) thus published a series of legislation to make the EU “fit” for this endeavour towards climate neutrality

• A very technical – but crucial – part are the so-called “Delegated Acts” (DAs) to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) II on “Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin” (RFNBOs), for example, renewable H₂ and synthetic hydrocarbons

• The DAs on Article 27 and 28 of the RED ll have been discussed heavily as they determine key rules regarding electricity sourcing and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission accounting for RFNBOs, including renewable hydrogen

The Levelised Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) is a variable that indicates how much it costs to produce 1 kg of Green Hydrogen, taking into account the estimated costs of the investment required and the cost of operating the assets involved in its production

• The cost of the equipment required

• Affected by the renewable energy system adopted, the electrolyser technology selected (alkaline, PEM, etc.) and the characteristics of the auxiliary services involved, such as water treatment, the compression and cooling system or Hydrogen storage, among others

• The more precise the technology selection, the more reliable the result will be

Operating and maintaining cost of the production

facility

This estimate considers water consumption, the

cost of renting the land, or the annual maintenance

required for all the assets

important factor to consider in this cost is the

potential use of energy from the electricity grid.