April 7, 2022
In this project researchers will establish a base case scenario in which hydrogen is generated with an electrolyser and is co-located with a combined cycle power plant (CCPP) running off natural gas and which acts in a firming capacity – oxygen is emitted in this case. This arrangement will be tested against different levels of renewable energy availability (from 25 % to 100% which roughly reflects different Australian regions) – cost (LCOH) and overall carbon intensity being key assessment variables. Opportunities to use the oxygen by-product as part of optimising power generation will then be considered. With this as a starting point the roadmap for transition to fully green hydrogen production via this comparatively simple combined route will be articulated.
Following this and using the above base case scenario as a reference, the project partners will proceed to assess the viability of combined production of green and blue hydrogen with the oxygen ‘by-product’ of green hydrogen production via water electrolysis being used in this case as the required feed to an ATR process in the first instance optimised for hydrogen production. Then consideration will be given to its use for coal gasification. Assessment in both cases will again be against economics (LCOH) and carbon intensity but will also consider the practical hurdles and opportunities of integrating these two hydrogen production processes.
For more project details, visit this page.