Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors with Renewable Hydrogen: A Real Case Application to the Ceramics Industry

Jorge Sousa (), Inês Azevedo, Cristina Camus, Luís Mendes, Carla Viveiros and Filipe Barata
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Jorge Sousa: ISEL—Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, Polytechnic University of Lisbon, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal
Inês Azevedo: ISEL—Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, Polytechnic University of Lisbon, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal
Cristina Camus: ISEL—Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, Polytechnic University of Lisbon, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal
Luís Mendes: Winpower S.A., 1600-201 Lisboa, Portugal
Carla Viveiros: ISEL—Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, Polytechnic University of Lisbon, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal
Filipe Barata: ISEL—Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, Polytechnic University of Lisbon, 1959-007 Lisboa, Portugal

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: Hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources is a valuable energy carrier for linking growing renewable electricity generation with the hard-to-abate sectors, such as cement, steel, glass, chemical, and ceramics industries. In this context, this paper presents a new model of hydrogen production based on solar photovoltaics and wind energy with application to a real-world ceramics factory. For this task, a novel multipurpose profit-maximizing model is implemented using GAMS. The developed model explores hydrogen production with multiple value streams that enable technical and economical informed decisions under specific scenarios. Our results show that it is profitable to sell the hydrogen produced to the gas grid rather than using it for self-consumption for low-gas-price scenarios. On the other hand, when the price of gas is significantly high, it is more profitable to use as much hydrogen as possible for self-consumption to supply the factory and reduce the internal use of natural gas. The role of electricity self-consumption has proven to be key for the project’s profitability as, without this revenue stream, the project would not be profitable in any analysed scenario.

Keywords: wind energy; solar energy; renewable hydrogen; industry decarbonization; ceramics industry; energy systems modelling; optimization (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: 2024
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