Assessing the economic feasibility of hydrogen energy: Hydropower and green hydrogen solutions

IF 8.1 2区工程技术 Q1 CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy Pub Date : 2025-06-10 DOI:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.06.053

Jing Niu , Xiaowei Zhang , Shuli Liu

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Abstract

This paper examines the utilization of surplus energy produced by wind farms and small hydropower plants (SHPs) to evaluate the financial viability of green hydrogen generation in China over the period 2015 to 2024. The study employs life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) to assess potential applications in transportation, natural gas infrastructure, energy storage capacity, and hydrogen production feasibility. Two production scenarios—3 % and 5 % of surplus electricity—are modelled to project profitability and output. Based on related energy yields of approximately 16,000 MWh and 9340 MWh per day, the results demonstrate that wind farms can generate up to 7.66 MNm³/day and SHPs up to 5.95 MNm³/day of hydrogen. The economic analysis indicates potential revenues for wind-derived hydrogen ranging from 36.22 to 518.93 USD/kg, and for SHP-derived hydrogen from 263.96 to 342.42 USD/kg. These findings underscore China's growing capacity to integrate green hydrogen into its low-carbon energy transition, thereby enhancing energy security and advancing national carbon neutrality objectives through the strategic utilization of renewable resources.

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评估氢能源的经济可行性：水电和绿色氢解决方案

本文考察了风力发电场和小型水电站（SHPs）产生的剩余能源的利用情况，以评估2015年至2024年中国绿色制氢的财务可行性。该研究采用生命周期评估（LCA）和技术经济分析（TEA）来评估在交通运输、天然气基础设施、储能能力和制氢可行性方面的潜在应用。两种生产情景——3%和5%的剩余电力——对项目盈利能力和产出进行了建模。根据每天约16000兆瓦时和9340兆瓦时的相关发电量，结果表明，风电场可以产生高达7.66 MNm3/天的氢气，SHPs可以产生高达5.95 MNm3/天的氢气。经济分析表明，风能衍生氢气的潜在收入范围为36.22至518.93美元/公斤，shp衍生氢气的潜在收入范围为263.96至342.42美元/公斤。这些研究结果表明，中国将绿色氢纳入低碳能源转型的能力日益增强，从而通过战略性利用可再生资源加强能源安全，推进国家碳中和目标。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 工程技术-环境科学

CiteScore

13.50

自引率

25.00%

发文量

3502

审稿时长

60 days

期刊介绍： The objective of the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy is to facilitate the exchange of new ideas, technological advancements, and research findings in the field of Hydrogen Energy among scientists and engineers worldwide. This journal showcases original research, both analytical and experimental, covering various aspects of Hydrogen Energy. These include production, storage, transmission, utilization, enabling technologies, environmental impact, economic considerations, and global perspectives on hydrogen and its carriers such as NH3, CH4, alcohols, etc. The utilization aspect encompasses various methods such as thermochemical (combustion), photochemical, electrochemical (fuel cells), and nuclear conversion of hydrogen, hydrogen isotopes, and hydrogen carriers into thermal, mechanical, and electrical energies. The applications of these energies can be found in transportation (including aerospace), industrial, commercial, and residential sectors.