Achieving near-zero emissions and cost-effective hydrogen production through the Allam cycle and solid oxide electrolysis cells integration

Taehyun Kim, Sebin Oh, Dohee Kim and Jinwoo Park

Energy, 2025, vol. 335, issue C

Abstract: Various studies have been conducted to reduce the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH), but green hydrogen still has a relatively high LCOH. This study proposes the thermal integration of the Allam cycle with a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC), resulting in improved energy efficiency, a reduction in LCOH through electricity sales, near-zero CO2 emissions, and water resource recycling. The Allam cycle is a power plant that utilizes supercritical CO2 as a working fluid, while SOEC is an electrolysis process that produces hydrogen from steam. Both processes require high-temperature heat. Additionally, the Allam cycle generates deionized water as a byproduct, which can be used in SOEC. The integrated process demonstrates an energy efficiency of 58.69 %, superior to the general Allam cycle, which exhibits approximately 55 % energy efficiency. Furthermore, the LCOH is reduced to $1.983 due to the sale of generated electricity, which is lower than the $5.00 for green H2 produced via SOEC and comparable to the $2.00 for blue H2. Continuous advancements in SOEC technology may enable the LCOH to fall below $1.5, which would be similar to that of grey H2. The carbon emissions are reduced to 0.07 kg-CO2/kg-H2, demonstrating a 97.08 % reduction compared to the 2.4 kg-CO2/kg-H2 emissions of blue H2. A sensitivity analysis was conducted for variables affecting LCOH, indicating that the LCOH remains lower than that of green H2 in all scenarios. This study contributes to achieving net-zero emissions and a feasible LCOH in the future.

Keywords: Integration of Allam cycle and SOEC; Recycling resource; Hydrogen production; LCOH reduction; Near-zero carbon emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:335:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225037132

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.138071

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