Sustainable selection of the clean hydrogen production route
Hydrogen has been identified as a potential energy vector and intermediary tool to help decarbonise the transport and chemical sectors and achieve global greenhouse gas reduction targets. Recent research has tended to focus on the global warming potential associated with the hydrogen production options. There are wider impacts and externalities which flow from increased clean hydrogen production as well as not accounting for contextual factors which can enable or impede development. One key barrier for clean hydrogen production uptake is the cost associated with its production route and that is why it is important to focus on its applications in the sectors that are hard-to-decarbonise otherwise. This research intends to assess the impact on cost of clean hydrogen production methods by clubbing the factors associated with its sustainable production through a framework that includes technical, social, and environmental, financial, policy indicators.
For this, we study the applicability of different strategies especially for the UK context, identifying areas where energy supply is scarce or expensive. The aim of this dissertation is to give an approach for decision making, considering different cost dimension that will give the outlook on the range of cost associated with the applied factors; and to explore the ways of acting upon them through policy intervention, business models and technological development for cost reduction of clean hydrogen production. This will give the pathways for sustainable selection of the route applicable for different sectors. Currently, only 10% of the planned investments for clean hydrogen have been undertaken globally, the research in final steps intends to give the decision-making criteria for the stakeholders by which they can more effectively assess their future investments decisions.