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Techno-economic Assessment of Low-carbon Hydrogen Export from Western Canada to Eastern Canada, the USA, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe

Abstract

The use of low-carbon hydrogen is being considered to help decarbonize several jurisdictions around the world. There may be opportunities for energy-exporting countries to supply energy-importing countries with a secure source of low-carbon hydrogen. The study objective is to assess the delivered cost of gaseous hydrogen export from Canada (a fossil-resource rich country) to the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and inland destinations in North America. There is a data gap on the feasibility of inter-continental export of hydrogen from an energy-producing jurisdiction to energy-consuming jurisdictions. This study is aimed at addressing this gap and includes an assessment of opportunities across the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, based on fundamental engineering-based models. Techno-economics were used to determine the delivered cost of hydrogen to these destinations. The modelling considers energy, material, and capacity-sizing requirements for a five-stage supply chain comprising hydrogen production with carbon capture and storage, hydrogen pipeline transportation, liquefaction, shipping, and regasification at the destinations. The results show that the delivered cost of hydrogen to inland destinations in North America is between CAD$4.81/kg and CAD$6.03/kg, to the Asia-Pacific from CAD$6.65/kg to CAD$6.99/kg, and at least CAD$8.14/kg for exports to Europe. Delivering hydrogen by blending in existing long-distance natural gas pipelines reduced the delivered cost to inland destinations by 17%. Exporting ammonia to the Asia-Pacific provides cost savings of 28% compared to shipping liquified hydrogen. The developed information may be helpful to policymakers in government and the industry in making informed decisions about international trade of low-carbon hydrogen in both energy-exporting and energy-importing jurisdictions, globally.

Funding source: The authors are grateful to the Alberta Department of Energy (ADOE), Natural Resources Canada, and the British Consulate- General, Calgary for the financial support to carry out this project, as well as their expert feedback on the assumptions and results. The authors are grateful to the NSERC/Cenovus/ Alberta Innovates Associate Industrial Research Chair Pro- gram in Energy and Environmental Systems Engineering and the Cenovus Energy Endowed Chair Program. As a part of the University of Alberta's Future Energy Systems (FES) this research was made possible in part thanks to funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund
Countries: Canada
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/content/journal2955
2021-12-03
2024-10-05
/content/journal2955
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