Spatial Data-Based Techno-economic Evaluation of Solar Hydrogen Production in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region

Abstract

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is endowed with solar energy that can be harvested and stored as hydrogen, which has gained increasing focus as a secondary energy medium. This paper introduces modeling and feasibility analysis of cost-optimized hydrogen production, storage, shipment, and methanation in the MENA region. The analysis is based on the economic modeling of hydrogen production through the combination of photovoltaic solar power and electrolysis systems, utilizing NASA surface Meteorology and Solar Energy database (2010) [1]. A system of 100MW grid-connected photovoltaic PV power plant (grid-PV) in combination with hydrogen producing electrolyzer are simulated using spatial data for the MENA region. Then, the simulation assesses cost of methane production by Sabatier synthesis of carbon dioxide. The unit cost of hydrogen from a system, which consists of 100MW PV solar plant and electrolyzer, ranged 4-8 US$/kg. Methanation was found to be expensive vis-à-vis regionally traded natural gas. Location is a major determinant to hydrogen cost due to the difference in irradiation and logistics. In conclusion, this paper can serve as an atlas for mapping the cost of solar power and hydrogen production in the MENA region, and facilitates further research in the future.