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Evaluation of LCOH of conventional technology, energy storage coupled solar PV electrolysis, and HTGR in China

Author

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  • Xiang, Pianpian
  • Jiang, Kejun
  • Wang, Jiachen
  • He, Chenmin
  • Chen, Sha
  • Jiang, Weiyi

Abstract

Hydrogen by electrolysis with solar PV and nuclear are regarded as the most promising zero‑carbon hydrogen production technologies to replace conventional fossil-fuel-based hydrogen production technologies. This study evaluates the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of conventional technologies with and without carbon price, solar and nuclear electricity-based technology, and the nuclear high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) in China, and analyzes the effects of energy storage on the LCOH of solar electricity-to‑hydrogen in different photovoltaic resource regions. The results show that when considering carbon price, the LCOH of conventional technologies will rise to 1938–2564 $/tH2 in 2050. The LCOH of HTGR will be 1149 $/tH2 in 2050, much lower than that of coal gasification, which is widely used in China today. In the photovoltaic resource-rich region, solar PV electrolysis shows strong competitiveness, particularly for PEM_PV, whose LCOH could reduce to 1154 $/tH2 in 2050. While energy storage only serves solar PV electrolysis, it fails to increase the cost competitiveness of solar PEM. Therefore, zero carbon hydrogen could have cost advantage by 2040 in rich photovoltaic resource area and by HTGR.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiang, Pianpian & Jiang, Kejun & Wang, Jiachen & He, Chenmin & Chen, Sha & Jiang, Weiyi, 2024. "Evaluation of LCOH of conventional technology, energy storage coupled solar PV electrolysis, and HTGR in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:353:y:2024:i:pa:s0306261923014502
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.122086
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    8. Sergey Galevskiy & Haidong Qian, 2025. "A Binary Discounting Method for Economic Evaluation of Hydrogen Projects: Applicability Study Based on Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-15, July.
    9. Fang, Juan & Yang, Miaomiao & Sui, Junpeng & Luo, Tengqi & Yu, Yinsheng & Ao, Yunjin & Dou, Ruifeng & Zhou, Wenning & Li, Wei & Liu, Xunliang & Zhao, Kai, 2024. "Enhancing solar-powered hydrogen production efficiency by spectral beam splitting and integrated chemical energy storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 372(C).
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