Analysing the competitiveness of offshore hydrogen-wind production models

Javier Pollos Ezquerra

Key information

Authors:

Javier Pollos Ezquerra (Javier Pollos Ezquerra)

Supervisors:

Rui Pedro da Costa Neto (Rui Pedro da Costa Neto (Rui Costa Neto)); SOFIA CARVALHO GANILHA

Published in

January 22, 2021

Abstract

Green hydrogen (H2) production is gaining a lot of popularity in 2020. Its contributions to the energy systems have been recognised by every stakeholder in the field of energy systems. Both governments and companies have announced in the last months massive support to this technology. The combination of offshore wind and H2 plants for large-scale production of this gas is a topic worth to be studied and with tremendous potential for development. Both technologies present synergies that can leverage the deployment of offshore wind farms (OWFs) and green H2 plants. This thesis analyses the main options when connecting an OWF to a H2 production plant and assesses the results based on economic indicators and technical needs. Four cases are defined and compared. The results for the studied cases indicate that, the addition of oxygen (O2) in the gases sales strategy is necessary to achieve a positive Net Present Value (NPV) with a potential representation of almost 65% of the gases sales. As a result, the case selected as the best option is the production of H2 in an offshore, dedicated and centralized way with a Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) of 5.98 €/kg. Additionally, with the aim of broadening the assessment, a sensitivity analysis is performed regarding the more influential variables that affect the project. Lastly, a potential case study is shown, covering the factors that may arise in the future when H2 plays a relevant role in the field of energy systems.