Finland
Impact of International Transportation Chains on Cost of Green E-hydrogen: Global Cost of Hydrogen and Consequences for Germany and Finland
Jun 2023
Publication
Widely available and low-cost solar photovoltaics and wind power can enable production of renewable electricity-based hydrogen at many locations throughout the world. Hydrogen is expected to emerge as an important energy carrier constituting some of the final energy demand; however its most important role will be as feedstock for further processing to e-fuels e-chemicals and e-steel. Apart from meeting their own hydrogen demand countries may have opportunities to export hydrogen to countries with area limitations or higher production costs. This paper assesses the feasibility of e-hydrogen imports to Germany and Finland from two case regions with a high availability of low-cost renewable electricity Chile and Morocco in comparison to domestic supply. Special attention is paid to the transport infrastructure which has a crucial impact on the economic viability of imports via two routes shipping and pipelines. This study has found that despite lower e-hydrogen production costs in Morocco and Chile compared to Germany and Finland additional transportation costs make imports of e-hydrogen economically unattractive. In early 2020s imported fuel costs are 39–79% and 34–100% higher than e-hydrogen produced in Germany and Finland respectively. In 2050 imported e-hydrogen is projected to be 39–70% more expensive than locally produced e-hydrogen in Germany and 43–54% in the case of Finland. e-Hydrogen may become a fuel that is mostly produced domestically and may be feasible for imports only in specific locations. Local e-hydrogen production may also lower dependence on imports enhance energy security and add jobs.
Power Balance Control and Dimensioning of a Hybrid Off-grid Energy system for a Nordic Climate Townhouse
Mar 2023
Publication
This paper investigates conversion of a Nordic oil-heated townhouse into carbon-neutral by different energy efficiency (EE) improvements and an off-grid system including solar photovoltaics (PV) wind power and battery and hydrogen energy storage systems (BESS and HESS). A heat-pump-based heating system including waste heat recovery (WHR) from the HESS and an off-grid electrical system are dimensioned for the building by applying models developed in MATLAB and Microsoft Excel to study the life cycle costs (LCC). The work uses a measured electrical load profile and the heat generation of the new heating system and the power generation are simulated by commercial software. It is shown that the EE improvements and WHR from the HESS have a positive effect on the dimensioning of the off-grid system and the LCC can be reduced by up to €2 million. With the EE improvements and WHR the component dimensioning can be reduced by 22%–41% and 13%–51% on average respectively. WHR can cover up to 57% of the building's annual heat demand and full-power dimensioning of the heat pump is not reasonable when WHR is applied. Wind power was found to be very relevant in the Nordic conditions reducing the LCC by 32%.
Towards Defossilised Steel: Supply Chain Options for a Green European Steel Industry
Mar 2023
Publication
As the European Union intensifies its response to the climate emergency increased focus has been placed on the hard-to-abate energy-intensive industries. Primary among these is the steel industry a cornerstone of the European economy and industry. With the emergence of new hydrogen-based steelmaking options particularly through hydrogen direct reduction the structure of global steel production and supply chains will transition from being based on low-cost coal resources to that based on low-cost electricity and therefore hydrogen production. This study examines the techno-economic options for three European countries of Germany Spain and Finland under five different steel supply chain configurations compared to local production. Results suggest that the high costs of hydrogen transportation make a European steelmaking supply chain cost competitive to steel produced with imported hydrogen with local production costs ranging from 465-545 €/t of crude steel (CS) and 380-494 €/tCS for 2030 and 2040 respectively. Conversely imports of hot briquetted iron and crude steel from Morocco become economically competitive with European supply chains. Given the capital and energy intensive nature of the steel industry critical investment decisions are required in this decade and this research serves to provide a deeper understanding of supply chain options for Europe.
Lessons Learned and Recommendations from Analysis of Hydrogen Incidents and Accidents to Support Risk Assessment for the Hydrogen Economy
Feb 2024
Publication
This study addresses challenges associated with hydrogen’s physio-chemical characteristics and the need for safety and public acceptance as a precursor to the emerging hydrogen economy. It highlights the gap in existing literature regarding lessons learned from events in the green hydrogen production value chain. The study aims to use the documented lessons learned from previous hydrogen-related events to assist in enhancing safety measures and to guide stakeholders on how to avoid and mitigate future hydrogen-related events. Given the potential catastrophic consequences robust safety systems are essential for hydrogen economy development. The work underscores the importance of human and operational factors as root causes of these events. The paper recommends establishing a specialized hydrogen-related event database to support risk assessment and risk mitigation thus catering to the growing hydrogen industry’s needs and facilitating quick access to critical information for stakeholders in the private and public sectors.
Selecting Appropriate Energy Source Options for an Arctic Research Ship
Dec 2023
Publication
Interest in more sustainable energy sources has increased rapidly in the maritime industry and ambitious goals have been set for decreasing ship emissions. All industry stakeholders have reacted to this with different approaches including the optimisation of ship power plants the development of new energy-improving sub-systems for existing solutions or the design of entirely novel power plant concepts employing alternative fuels. This paper assesses the feasibility of different ship energy sources for an icebreaking Arctic research ship. To that end possible energy sources are assessed based on fuel infrastructure availability and operational endurance criteria in the operational area of interest. Promising alternatives are analysed further using the evidence-based Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) method. Then a more thorough investigation with respect to the required fuel tank space life cycle cost and CO2 emissions is implemented. The results demonstrate that marine diesel oil (MDO) is currently still the most convenient solution due to the space operational range and endurance limitations although it is possible to use liquefied natural gas (LNG) and methanol if the ship’s arrangement is radically redesigned which will also lead to reduced emissions and life cycle costs. The use of liquefied hydrogen as the only energy solution for the considered vessel was excluded from the potential options due to low volumetric energy density and high life cycle and capital costs. Even if it is used with MDO for the investigated ship the reduction in CO2 emissions will not be as significant as for LNG and methanol at a much higher capital and lifecycle cost. The advantage of the proposed approach is that unrealistic alternatives are eliminated in a systematic manner before proceeding to detailed techno-economic analysis facilitating the decision-making and investigation of various options in a more holistic manner.
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