A geospatial method for estimating the levelised cost of hydrogen production from offshore wind

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 48; no. 40; pp. 15000 - 15013
• Main Authors: Dinh, Quang Vu, Dinh, Van Nguyen, Mosadeghi, Hadi, Todesco Pereira, Pedro H., Leahy, Paul G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 08-05-2023
• Subjects: Geographic information system; Green hydrogen; Hydrogen production in Ireland; LCOH; Offshore hydrogen production; Green hydrogen; LCOH; Geographic information system; Offshore hydrogen production; Hydrogen production in Ireland
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.01.016

This paper describes the development of a general-purpose geospatial model for assessing the economic viability of hydrogen production from offshore wind power. A key feature of the model is that it uses the offshore project's location characteristics (distance to port, water depth, distance to gas grid injection point). Learning rates are used to predict the cost of the wind farm's components and electrolyser stack replacement. The notional wind farm used in the paper has a capacity of 510 MW. The model is implemented in a geographic information system which is used to create maps of levelised cost of hydrogen from offshore wind in Irish waters. LCOH values in 2030 spatially vary by over 50% depending on location. The geographically distributed LCOH results are summarised in a multivariate production function which is a simple and rapid tool for generating preliminary LCOH estimates based on simple site input variables.
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•A geospatial model for estimating levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) production from offshore wind energy is described.•The model is easy to use and versatile as the inputs are project variables such as water depth and wind statistics.•LCOH from offshore wind is mapped for Ireland's offshore waters, and the results show significant spatial variability.•A simple production function for rapid estimation of LCOH from a small number project variables is also presented.