Techno-economic analysis of large-scale hydrogen production from wind energy

Abstract

The techno-economic assessment of large-scale grid and wind-electrolyser-hydrogen production systems for 3 locations in the South Marmara region is performed. The unit cost of hydrogen is calculated by the present-value method. The optimum size of the electrolyzer for alkaline, PEM and SOEC technology was determined regarding recorded wind speed data in the regions where we performed analysis for. The effects of CAPEX, net discount rate and efficiency on unit-hydrogen cost were investigated by sensitivity analysis. According to the analysis of 3 locations by 1MW scale electrolyser technology, the Gökçeada location has more advantageous cost, followed by Çanakkale and Bandırma. The unit low and high production costs of hydrogen with alkaline, PEM and SOEC technologies were calculated as $4,8-5,22, $4,98-5,65, and $6,57-8,1 for Gökçeada. The unit cost of hydrogen with alkaline electrolyzer is lower than others due to the mature structure and lower Capex. However, the capex of the PEM electrolyser is in a downward trend. The analysis was also performed for 2035 with 5 MW scale electrolyzer to see the effect of decreasing CAPEX of PEM technology on hydrogen cost. According to analysis, it was seen that these costs will be $2.99-3.19 for alkaline and $2.82-3.44 for PEM in 2035, with a difference quite close.