The Carbon Footprint of Hydrogen Produced with State-of-the-Art Photovoltaic Electricity Using Life-Cycle Assessment Methodology

Mehrshad Kolahchian Tabrizi, Jacopo Famiglietti, Davide Bonalumi () and Stefano Campanari
Additional contact information
Mehrshad Kolahchian Tabrizi: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milano, Italy
Jacopo Famiglietti: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milano, Italy
Davide Bonalumi: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milano, Italy
Stefano Campanari: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lambruschini 4, 20156 Milano, Italy

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 13, 1-25

Abstract: The production of hydrogen as both chemical feed and energy carrier using low-carbon technologies is one of the solutions to reach net-zero emissions. This paper, firstly, reviews the publications on the life-cycle assessment of photovoltaic (PV)-based hydrogen production focused on the carbon footprint. Secondly, it updates the global warming potential (GWP) values of this H 2 production process considering the state-of-the-art PV panels for installation in Italy. In the literature, H 2 produced in Europe and the rest of the world results in a mean GWP equal to 4.83 and 3.82 kg CO 2 eq./kg H 2 , respectively, in which PV systems contribute the highest share. The average efficiency of PV panels assumed in the literature is lower than the current PV modules. Updating the supply chain, efficiency, and manufacturing energy and material flows of PV modules can decrease the GWP value of the H 2 produced by nearly 60% (1.75 kg CO 2 eq./kg H 2 , with use of alkaline electrolyzer) in the Italian context, which can be further reduced with advancements in PV panels or electrolysis efficiency. The study proves that advancement in the PV industry and additional savings in the electrolyzer’s electrical demand can further decrease the carbon footprint of PV-based H 2 .

Keywords: LCA; hydrogen; photovoltaic; carbon footprint; electrolysis (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 (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/13/5190/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/13/5190/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:13:p:5190-:d:1187712

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().