Sustainable pathways for hydrogen Production: Metrics, Trends, and strategies for a Zero-Carbon future

Abstract

The Horn of Africa stands as a promising region for renewable energy exploration, particularly in harnessing wind power for hydrogen generation employing Mabchour’s method to estimate the region’s sustainable energy potential. This paper explores the considerable potential in exploiting the region’s abundant wind resources to produce green hydrogen. Leveraging this renewable source to drive electrolysis for hydrogen production not only aligns with global sustainability goals but also meets the escalating energy needs escalating energy demands. It offers promising solutions for enhancing energy independence and providing valuable energy storage capabilities for a sustainable energy future. Through a techno-economic analysis for different sites, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) alongside with the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH), the hydrogen production and the gained carbon credit are determined. Moreover, a site-dependent empirical formula is deduced to estimate both the produced hydrogen quantity and LCOE as a function of wind turbine rated power. The fair analysis highlights the superiority of MM82 wind turbines for diverse studied locations. Ghoubet leads in cost-effective annual hydrogen production of 259.86 tons, with the lowest LCOH and LCOE at 1.17 $/kg, and 0.011 $/kWh, respectively. Additionally, a shorter 1.08-year payback period, and significant annual CO₂ reduction of 3182.36 tons.