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Techno-Economic Model for Scaling Up of Hydrogen Refueling Stations

Author

Listed:
  • Roberta Caponi

    (Department of Engineering Sciences, Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi, 00193 Rome, Italy)

  • Enrico Bocci

    (Department of Engineering Sciences, Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi, 00193 Rome, Italy)

  • Luca Del Zotto

    (CREAT, Centro di Ricerca su Energia, Ambiente e Territorio, Università Telematica eCampus, 22060 Novedrate, Italy)

Abstract

In a recent publication, the Hydrogen Council states that scaling up to greater production volumes leads to significant cost savings as a consequence of the industrialization of equipment manufacturing, increased utilization, standardization, and improvements in system efficiency and flexibility. In this study, a component-oriented techno-economic model is applied to five different European hydrogen refueling stations within the 3Emotion project, which is planned to ensure capacities sufficient for increasing a fleet to 100 fuel cell buses. The investigation of the various cases shows that the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) for large-scale applications will be in the range of about 4 €/kg to 7 €/kg within the boundaries analyzed. On-site production facilities were found to be the lower-cost design, benefiting from the high volumes at stake and the economy of scale with respect to decentralized production due to the significant costs associated with retail hydrogen and transport. This study also illustrates the effects on the LCOH of varying the hydrogen delivery and production prices using a sensitivity analysis. The results show that, by utilizing high-capacity trailers, the costs associated with delivery could be reduced by 30%. Furthermore, green hydrogen production could be a competitive solution if coupled with low electricity prices, resulting in an LCOH between 4.21 €/kg and 6.80 €/kg.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberta Caponi & Enrico Bocci & Luca Del Zotto, 2022. "Techno-Economic Model for Scaling Up of Hydrogen Refueling Stations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:20:p:7518-:d:940199
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Rafael Pereira & Vitor Monteiro & Joao L. Afonso & Joni Teixeira, 2024. "Hydrogen Refueling Stations: A Review of the Technology Involved from Key Energy Consumption Processes to Related Energy Management Strategies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Hajjaji, Mohamed & Cristofari, Christian, 2024. "Economic and technical evaluation of on-site electrolysis solar hydrogen refueling station in Corsica: A case study of Ajaccio," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    4. Tareq Salameh & Abdul Ghani Olabi & Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem & Mohd Shahbudin Masdar & Siti Kartom Kamarudin & Enas Taha Sayed, 2023. "Integrated Energy System Powered a Building in Sharjah Emirates in the United Arab Emirates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-20, January.
    5. Alessandro Guzzini & Giovanni Brunaccini & Davide Aloisio & Marco Pellegrini & Cesare Saccani & Francesco Sergi, 2023. "A New Geographic Information System (GIS) Tool for Hydrogen Value Chain Planning Optimization: Application to Italian Highways," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-23, January.
    6. Ahmadullah, Ahmad Bilal & Rahimi, Mohammad Amin & Ulfat, Dawood Shah & Irshad, Ahmad Shah & Doost, Ziaul Haq & Wali, Najibullah & Karimi, Bashir Ahmad, 2025. "Decarbonizing Afghanistan: The most cost-effective renewable energy system for hydrogen production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    7. Ruggero Angelico & Ferruccio Giametta & Biagio Bianchi & Pasquale Catalano, 2025. "Green Hydrogen for Energy Transition: A Critical Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-47, January.

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