Enhancing the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen with the Usage of the Byproduct Oxygen in a Wastewater Treatment Plant

Franziska Hönig, Ganesh Deepak Rupakula, Diana Duque-Gonzalez, Matthias Ebert () and Ulrich Blum
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Franziska Hönig: Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP, Otto-Eißfeldt-Strasse 12, 06120 Halle, Germany
Ganesh Deepak Rupakula: Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP, Otto-Eißfeldt-Strasse 12, 06120 Halle, Germany
Diana Duque-Gonzalez: H2 POWERCELL GmbH, Rothenberger Strasse 47, 48493 Wettringen, Germany
Matthias Ebert: Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP, Otto-Eißfeldt-Strasse 12, 06120 Halle, Germany
Ulrich Blum: ITEL Institute for Technologies and Economics of Lithium, Leipziger Strasse 70, 06108 Halle, Germany

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-23

Abstract: In order to harmonizFranziska Hönige the supply and demand of green energy, new future-proof technologies are needed. Here, hydrogen plays a key role. Within the current framework conditions, the production of green hydrogen is not yet economically viable. The use of the oxygen produced and the possible increase in efficiency associated with it mostly remain unconsidered. The aim is to demonstrate that the economic efficiency of a power-to-gas (PtG) project can be increased by using the byproduct oxygen. In this research project, a water electrolyzer connected to grid is powered to supply hydrogen to a hydrogen refueling station. By utilizing the byproduct oxygen from water electrolysis for a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), it is shown that the net present value (NPV) of the project can be improved by up to 13% compared to the initial scenario. If a photovoltaic (PV) system is used in addition to grid electricity for higher green hydrogen production, the NPV can be further improved by up to 58%. The levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is calculated for different scenarios with and without oxygen configuration. A sensitivity analysis is then performed to find important parameters.

Keywords: alkaline water electrolysis; hydrogen; byproduct oxygen; wastewater treatment plant; levelized cost of hydrogen; power-to-gas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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