IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v115y2016ip1p604-614.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A techno-economic assessment of hydrogen production from hydropower in Western Canada for the upgrading of bitumen from oil sands

Author

Listed:
  • Olateju, Babatunde
  • Kumar, Amit

Abstract

The demand for hydrogen in conventional and unconventional oil refining industries is considerable. Currently, the predominant source of hydrogen is from fossil fuel production pathways, in particular, steam methane reforming (SMR), which incurs a significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint. Thus, alternative environmentally benign sources of hydrogen will be needed in oil refinery complexes the world over, if their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions footprint is to be reduced materially. In this paper, an integrated data-intensive techno-economic model is developed to provide a credible estimate of hydropower-hydrogen production costs in Western Canada. The minimum hydrogen production cost for the hydropower-hydrogen plant amounts to $2.43/kg H2 – this corresponds to an electrolyser farm with 90 units of a 3496 kW (760 Nm3/h) rated electrolyser. This cost is competitive with SMR/SMR coupled with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) production costs, which vary from $1.87/kg H2 to $2.60/kg H2. This point is buttressed by the fact that if existing hydropower plants are used (hence negating hydropower capital costs), the minimum production cost amounts to $1.18/kg H2. Hydrogen from hydro power, under the techno-economic conditions considered here, is competitive compared to SMR.

Suggested Citation

  • Olateju, Babatunde & Kumar, Amit, 2016. "A techno-economic assessment of hydrogen production from hydropower in Western Canada for the upgrading of bitumen from oil sands," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(P1), pages 604-614.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:115:y:2016:i:p1:p:604-614
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2016.08.101
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544216312142
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2016.08.101?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Verma, Aman & Olateju, Babatunde & Kumar, Amit, 2015. "Greenhouse gas abatement costs of hydrogen production from underground coal gasification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 556-568.
    2. Yang, Christopher & Ogden, Joan M, 2007. "Determining the lowest-cost hydrogen delivery mode," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt7p3500g2, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    3. Parker, Nathan, 2004. "Using Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline Costs to Estimate Hydrogen Pipeline Costs," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt9m40m75r, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    4. Olateju, Babatunde & Kumar, Amit, 2013. "Techno-economic assessment of hydrogen production from underground coal gasification (UCG) in Western Canada with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) for upgrading bitumen from oil sands," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 428-440.
    5. Beccali, M. & Brunone, S. & Finocchiaro, P. & Galletto, J.M., 2013. "Method for size optimisation of large wind–hydrogen systems with high penetration on power grids," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 534-544.
    6. Partl, R., 1978. "Power from glaciers: the hydropower potential of Greenland's glacial waters," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 3(5), pages 543-573.
    7. Nouni, M.R. & Mullick, S.C. & Kandpal, T.C., 2007. "Techno-economics of small wind electric generator projects for decentralized power supply in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 2491-2506, April.
    8. Parker, Nathan, 2004. "Using Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline Costs to Estimate Hydrogen Pipeline Costs," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt2gk0j8kq, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    9. Petrakopoulou, Fontina & Robinson, Alexander & Loizidou, Maria, 2016. "Simulation and analysis of a stand-alone solar-wind and pumped-storage hydropower plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 676-683.
    10. Olateju, Babatunde & Monds, Joshua & Kumar, Amit, 2014. "Large scale hydrogen production from wind energy for the upgrading of bitumen from oil sands," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 48-56.
    11. Verma, Aman & Kumar, Amit, 2015. "Life cycle assessment of hydrogen production from underground coal gasification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 556-568.
    12. Yang, Christopher & Ogden, Joan M, 2007. "Determining the lowest-cost hydrogen delivery mode," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt1804p4vw, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    13. Ogden, Joan M, 2004. "Conceptual Design of Optimized Fossil Energy Systems with Capture and Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt4nx7p2rz, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    14. Pelaez-Samaniego, Manuel Raul & Riveros-Godoy, Gustavo & Torres-Contreras, Santiago & Garcia-Perez, Tsai & Albornoz-Vintimilla, Esteban, 2014. "Production and use of electrolytic hydrogen in Ecuador towards a low carbon economy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 626-631.
    15. Santarelli, M. & Macagno, S., 2004. "Hydrogen as an energy carrier in stand-alone applications based on PV and PV–micro-hydro systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(8), pages 1159-1182.
    16. Menanteau, P. & Quéméré, M.M. & Le Duigou, A. & Le Bastard, S., 2011. "An economic analysis of the production of hydrogen from wind-generated electricity for use in transport applications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2957-2965, May.
    17. Bartholomy, Obadiah, 2005. "Renewable Hydrogen From Wind in California," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt3sb7f144, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    18. Contreras, A. & Posso, F., 2011. "Technical and financial study of the development in Venezuela of the hydrogen energy system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 3114-3123.
    19. Kauw, Marco & Benders, René M.J. & Visser, Cindy, 2015. "Green methanol from hydrogen and carbon dioxide using geothermal energy and/or hydropower in Iceland or excess renewable electricity in Germany," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(P1), pages 208-217.
    20. Ogden, Joan, 2004. "Conceptual Design of Optimized Fossil Energy Systems with Capture and Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt5hf491tt, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    21. Castelo Branco, David A. & Gomes, Gabriel L. & Szklo, Alexandre S., 2010. "Challenges and technological opportunities for the oil refining industry: A Brazilian refinery case," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 3098-3105, June.
    22. Sarkar, Susanjib & Kumar, Amit, 2010. "Biohydrogen production from forest and agricultural residues for upgrading of bitumen from oil sands," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 582-591.
    23. Olateju, Babatunde & Kumar, Amit, 2011. "Hydrogen production from wind energy in Western Canada for upgrading bitumen from oil sands," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 6326-6339.
    24. Johansson, Daniella & Franck, Per-Åke & Berntsson, Thore, 2012. "Hydrogen production from biomass gasification in the oil refining industry – A system analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 212-227.
    25. Ogden, Joan, 2004. "Conceptual Design of Optimized Fossil Energy Systems with Capture and Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt4b85674s, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mohammadi, Amin & Mehrpooya, Mehdi, 2018. "A comprehensive review on coupling different types of electrolyzer to renewable energy sources," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 632-655.
    2. Liu, Huan & Guo, Wei & Liu, Shuqin, 2022. "Comparative techno-economic performance analysis of underground coal gasification and surface coal gasification based coal-to-hydrogen process," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    3. Abdin, Z. & Webb, C.J. & Gray, E.MacA., 2017. "Modelling and simulation of an alkaline electrolyser cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 316-331.
    4. Ephraim Bonah Agyekum & Jeffrey Dankwa Ampah & Solomon Eghosa Uhunamure & Karabo Shale & Ifeoma Prisca Onyenegecha & Vladimir Ivanovich Velkin, 2023. "Can Africa Serve Europe with Hydrogen Energy from Its Renewables?—Assessing the Economics of Shipping Hydrogen and Hydrogen Carriers to Europe from Different Parts of the Continent," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-14, April.
    5. Ding, Xiuying & Liu, Xuemei, 2023. "Renewable energy development and transportation infrastructure matters for green economic growth? Empirical evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 634-646.
    6. El Hage, Hicham & Herez, Amal & Ramadan, Mohamad & Bazzi, Hassan & Khaled, Mahmoud, 2018. "An investigation on solar drying: A review with economic and environmental assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 815-829.
    7. Kouchachvili, Lia & Entchev, Evgueniy, 2018. "Power to gas and H2/NG blend in SMART energy networks concept," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 456-464.
    8. Coppitters, Diederik & De Paepe, Ward & Contino, Francesco, 2019. "Surrogate-assisted robust design optimization and global sensitivity analysis of a directly coupled photovoltaic-electrolyzer system under techno-economic uncertainty," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C), pages 310-320.
    9. Davis, M. & Okunlola, A. & Di Lullo, G. & Giwa, T. & Kumar, A., 2023. "Greenhouse gas reduction potential and cost-effectiveness of economy-wide hydrogen-natural gas blending for energy end uses," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    10. Bhandari, Ramchandra & Subedi, Subodh, 2023. "Evaluation of surplus hydroelectricity potential in Nepal until 2040 and its use for hydrogen production via electrolysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 403-414.
    11. Okunlola, Ayodeji & Davis, Matthew & Kumar, Amit, 2023. "Assessing the cost competitiveness of electrolytic hydrogen production from small modular nuclear reactor-based power plants: A price-following perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 346(C).
    12. Liu, Ying, 2023. "How does economic recovery impact green finance and renewable energy in Asian economies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 538-545.
    13. Tomonori Miyagawa & Mika Goto, 2022. "Hydrogen Production Cost Forecasts since the 1970s and Implications for Technological Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-24, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Olateju, Babatunde & Monds, Joshua & Kumar, Amit, 2014. "Large scale hydrogen production from wind energy for the upgrading of bitumen from oil sands," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 48-56.
    2. Olateju, Babatunde & Kumar, Amit, 2013. "Techno-economic assessment of hydrogen production from underground coal gasification (UCG) in Western Canada with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) for upgrading bitumen from oil sands," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 428-440.
    3. Verma, Aman & Olateju, Babatunde & Kumar, Amit, 2015. "Greenhouse gas abatement costs of hydrogen production from underground coal gasification," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 556-568.
    4. Olateju, Babatunde & Kumar, Amit, 2011. "Hydrogen production from wind energy in Western Canada for upgrading bitumen from oil sands," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 6326-6339.
    5. Rahil, Abdulla & Gammon, Rupert & Brown, Neil, 2018. "Flexible operation of electrolyser at the garage forecourt to support grid balancing and exploitation of hydrogen as a clean fuel," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 125-138.
    6. McCollum, David L & Ogden, Joan M, 2006. "Techno-Economic Models for Carbon Dioxide Compression, Transport, and Storage & Correlations for Estimating Carbon Dioxide Density and Viscosity," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt1zg00532, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    7. Davis, M. & Okunlola, A. & Di Lullo, G. & Giwa, T. & Kumar, A., 2023. "Greenhouse gas reduction potential and cost-effectiveness of economy-wide hydrogen-natural gas blending for energy end uses," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    8. Lin, Zhenhong & Fan, Yueyue & Ogden, Joan M & Chen, Chien-Wei, 2008. "Optimized Pathways for Regional H2 Infrastructure Transitions: A Case Study for Southern California," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt9mk5n8jn, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    9. Parker, Nathan C, 2007. "Optimizing the Design of Biomass Hydrogen Supply Chains Using Real-World Spatial Distributions: A Case Study Using California Rice Straw," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt8sp9n37c, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    10. Jarvis, Sean M. & Samsatli, Sheila, 2018. "Technologies and infrastructures underpinning future CO2 value chains: A comprehensive review and comparative analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 46-68.
    11. Gordon, Joel A. & Balta-Ozkan, Nazmiye & Nabavi, Seyed Ali, 2023. "Socio-technical barriers to domestic hydrogen futures: Repurposing pipelines, policies, and public perceptions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    12. Lin, Zhenhong & Chen, Chien-Wei & Fan, Yueyue & Ogden, Joan M., 2008. "Optimized Pathways for Regional H2 Infrastructure Transitions: The Least-Cost Hydrogen for Southern California," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt0333714s, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    13. Hsieh, Chuang-Yu & Pei, Pucheng & Bai, Qiang & Su, Ay & Weng, Fang-Bor & Lee, Chi-Yuan, 2021. "Results of a 200 hours lifetime test of a 7 kW Hybrid–Power fuel cell system on electric forklifts," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    14. van der Zwaan, B.C.C. & Schoots, K. & Rivera-Tinoco, R. & Verbong, G.P.J., 2011. "The cost of pipelining climate change mitigation: An overview of the economics of CH4, CO2 and H2 transportation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(11), pages 3821-3831.
    15. Parker, Nathan C & Ogden, Joan & Fan, Yueyue, 2009. "The role of biomass in California's hydrogen economy," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt8412751s, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    16. Parker, Nathan C. & Ogden, Joan M. & Fan, Yueyue, 2008. "The role of biomass in California's hydrogen economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 3925-3939, October.
    17. Abdulla Rahil & Rupert Gammon, 2017. "Dispatchable Hydrogen Production at the Forecourt for Electricity Demand Shaping," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-22, October.
    18. Parker, Nathan, 2007. "Optimizing the Design of Biomass Hydrogen Supply ChainsUsing Real-World Spatial Distributions: A Case Study Using California Rice Straw," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt5kr728sp, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    19. Clinton Thai & Jack Brouwer, 2023. "Comparative Levelized Cost Analysis of Transmitting Renewable Solar Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-21, February.
    20. Zhang, Shuai & Liu, Linlin & Zhang, Lei & Zhuang, Yu & Du, Jian, 2018. "An optimization model for carbon capture utilization and storage supply chain: A case study in Northeastern China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 194-206.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:115:y:2016:i:p1:p:604-614. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.