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Green hydrogen as a power plant fuel: What is energy efficiency from production to utilization?

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  • Pashchenko, Dmitry

Abstract

This work is focused on analyzing the efficiency of using “green” hydrogen as a fuel for power generation systems. Three main stages of the process were considered: hydrogen production through electrolysis, hydrogen compression for transportation, and hydrogen utilization as a fuel in a combined cycle power plant. It was established that LHV efficiency of alkaline water and proton-membrane electrolysis is up to 70% and 85%, respectively. The thermodynamic analysis of hydrogen compression showed that the energy consumption per 1 kg of hydrogen to compress from 20 bar to 600 bar is 1.51 kWh with the utilization of waste-heat in an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), and 1.77 kWh without ORC. This energy consumption corresponds to losses of 4.5% and 5.3% of hydrogen LHV, respectively. The energy analysis of using hydrogen as a fuel was performed for pure hydrogen and hydrogen-methane blends of different compositions. An increase in the hydrogen volume fraction in the fuel increases LHV efficiency and decreases HHV efficiency. When fuel with 100% H2 is used, HHV and LHV efficiency are 48.7% and 57.5%, respectively. The real efficiency of transforming renewable energy via hydrogen as an energy carrier into electricity in combined cycle power plants is about 38%.

Suggested Citation

  • Pashchenko, Dmitry, 2024. "Green hydrogen as a power plant fuel: What is energy efficiency from production to utilization?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:223:y:2024:i:c:s0960148124000983
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2024.120033
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    Cited by:

    1. Tomasz Trawiński & Janusz Kotowicz, 2025. "Photovoltaic Power System with Electrochemical and Hydrogen Storage for Energy Independence in Student Dormitories," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-19, March.
    2. Muhammad, Hafiz Ali & Lim, Su & Kim, Hyerin & Lee, Young Duk, 2025. "Comparative evaluation of electrolysis methods for solar-assisted green hydrogen production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    3. Yang, Pan & Ye, Shuixin & Wang, Fengmei & Hu, Xiaodie & Zhang, Yuwen & Wu, Wenhe & Zhu, Kai & Lu, Xionggang, 2025. "Dissection of hydrogen-rich blast furnace: The continuous reduction and phase migration mechanism of sinter in lumpy zone," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    4. Chang, Huawei & Yang, Zhengbo & Tu, Zhengkai, 2024. "Experimental study on the cold-start performance of a gas heating assisted air-cooled proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    5. Zhu, Shaolong & Wei, Xinyu & Teng, Junjie & Wang, Jinglei & Fang, Song & Wang, Kai & Qiu, Limin, 2025. "Exploration of energy transfer and catalytic processes in continuous conversion heat exchangers for hydrogen liquefaction," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    6. Hu, Yuhang & Li, Yuehua & Ren, Peng & Wang, Dan & Song, Xin & Zhu, Zijing & Zhang, Lu & Pei, Pucheng, 2025. "Impedance investigation and switching strategy study of constant-electrode unitized regenerative fuel cell from electrolytic cell through purging to fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 332(C).
    7. Reza, M.S. & Fattah, I.M.R. & Wang, Junkai & Hannan, M.A. & Zainal, B.S. & Ong, Hwai Chyuan & Mahlia, T.M.I., 2026. "Hydrogen-based hybrid energy system: A review of technologies, optimization approaches, objectives, constraints, applications, and outstanding issues," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 226(PA).
    8. Luciano T. Barbosa & Pedro A. C. Rosas & José F. C. Castro & Samuel D. Vasconcelos & Paulo H. R. P. Gama & Douglas C. P. Barbosa, 2025. "Proposal for an Energy Efficiency Index for Green Hydrogen Production—An Integrated Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-29, June.
    9. Aghanouri, Amirhesam & Smirnov, Nikita & Olaverri-Monreal, Cristina, 2025. "Urban hydrogen adoption in Linz, Austria: Simulation and statistical detection of anomalies in sustainable mobility," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 401(PA).
    10. Haoxin, Dong & Qiyuan, Deng & Chaojie, Li & Nian, Liu & Zhang, Wenzuo & Hu, Mingyue & Xu, Chuanbo, 2025. "A comprehensive review on renewable power-to-green hydrogen-to-power systems: Green hydrogen production, transportation, storage, re-electrification and safety," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 390(C).
    11. Khademi, Mohammad Mahyar & Kasaeian, Alibakhsh, 2025. "Hydrogen production using solar heliostat fields: A review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    12. Syaichurrozi, Iqbal & Hidayatullah, Muhammad Akbar & Nurullah, Alfan & Suhendi, Endang & Kustiningsih, Indar & Susanti, Devi Yuni & Darsono, Nono & Primeia, Sandia & Khaerudini, Deni Shidqi, 2025. "Enhanced biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent using single-stage process of dark fermentation and microbial electrolysis cell at various initial pHs," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    13. Zhu, Shaolong & Fang, Song & Bao, Shiran & Zhi, Xiaoqin & Wang, Kai & Qiu, Limin, 2024. "Efficient cooling strategies for liquid hydrogen pipelines: A comparative analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    14. Jamshid Yakhshilikov & Marco Cavana & Pierluigi Leone, 2024. "A Review of the Energy System and Transport Sector in Uzbekistan in View of Future Hydrogen Uptake," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-30, August.
    15. Xu, Zihui & Shan, Shiquan & Zhang, Biao & Wang, Zhihua & Zhou, Zhijun & Cen, Kefa, 2025. "A novel efficient solar-gas assisted hydrogen-electricity cogeneration system based on photo-thermal energy cascade conversion: modeling and performance analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    16. Venizelou, Venizelos & Poullikkas, Andreas, 2025. "The potential of Green Hydrogen as an alternative to Natural Gas Power Generation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    17. Yang, Luming & Li, Jianwei & Liang, Haiqiang & Liang, Guoqi & Tian, Zhonghao & Shen, Jun, 2026. "Risk quantification assessment for fuel cell buses based on component leakage space risk analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PB).
    18. Ghasemi Vajargah, Sajad & Gilani, Neda, 2024. "Enhancing the activity of Ni-B catalyst via Cu doping towards hydrogen evolution from NaBH4 hydrolysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).

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