Economic Performance Evaluation of Flexible Centralised and Decentralised Blue Hydrogen Production Systems Design Under Uncertainty

Davis Bigestans

In the global race to transition to a low carbon energy industry, blue hydrogen has emerged as an appealing energy vector for the coming decades. Despite this, the inherent complexity and challenge of the unfolding energy transition calls for a wholistic techno-economic evaluation of any chemical commodity to hedge against potential investment risk. This study evaluates the potential value of centralised and decentralised blue hydrogen production in California using real options theory and flexible engineering system design in the presence of market and regulatory uncertainty.

Supervisors:

• Assoc. Professor Michel-Alexandre Cardin, Dyson School of Design Engineering
• Professor Nikolaos Kazantzis, Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

 

A techno-economic assessment of ship-based carbon capture for the shipping industry

Isabelle Glotman

The shipping industry currently accounts for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with figures expected to rise by up to 6-fold before 2050. It is evident that rapid action and technological advancements are required for ships to lower their emissions. This project investigates the feasibility of one such solution: ship-based carbon capture. The project consists of a techno-economic model which determines the parameters, assumptions and design decisions that most strongly impact the economics surrounding the technology.

Supervisors:

• Dr. Marc Stettler, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Dr. Tristan Smith, UCL Energy Institute

 

Quantifying interventions for CCUS uptake in refineries using an optimization-based Market Potential Assement model

Christabel Ofori-Atta

The refinery sector is the third highest stationary emitter of GHGs, responsible for 4-8% of global CO2 emissions. Hence, in line with climate goals, refineries worldwide are under increasing pressure to minimise their carbon footprint. Although CCS is broadly heralded as a substantive opportunity to offset emissions, market uptake in industries is largely hindered by high costs. This thesis seeks to explore the economic viability of emerging CCS technologies for refineries by 2030 based on an optimisation-based market potential analysis. By combining CCS hubs with effective policy support, the study will quantify the extent to which sufficient demand can be generated to trigger further cost reductions with increasing market share.

Supervisor:

• Dr. Gbemi Oluleye, Centre for Environmental Policy

 

An optimisation based market potential assessment for the uptake of hydrogen for direct iron reduction

Orabelema Rachel Sekibo

Hydrogen is one of the most important industrial decarbonisation strategies considered globally, particularly in the hard-to-abate Iron and Steel sector. Hydrogen for Direct Iron Reduction (H2-DRI) has been validated at scale as a deep decarbonisation pathway; however, adoption has been hampered by its high capital cost. This research aims to prove that there is a fundamental need to go beyond the techno-economic assessment of H2-DRI to analysing how the size of a market can generate sufficient demand that to drive down technology costs until it becomes cost-competitive using the most suitable mix of policy interventions.

Supervisor:

• Dr Gbemi Oluleye, Centre for Environmental Policy

 

Green Hydrogen Production on the Island of Cyprus

Michael Roussos

Hydrogen has been hailed for decades as a key component of a clean, carbon-free economy - and with the EU's recently issued hydrogen strategy, hydrogen's potential is closer than ever to realisation. Cyprus, however, is one of the few remaining member states with no strategy, roadmap or policy framework in place to promote the production and uptake of hydrogen. In the context of Cyprus's current energy transition and efforts towards decarbonisation & energy security, this project assesses the potential for green hydrogen production on the island through a techno-economic analysis of a proposed pilot plant electrolyzer as a case study.

Supervisors:

• Dr Koen H. van Dam, Chemical Engineering
• Dr Nixon Sunny, Centre for Environmental Policy

 

Low-Carbon Hydrogen adoption for the UK Refining Industry: An Evaluation of Funding and Policy Gaps

Andrea Servin

The petrochemical sector is responsible for 5% of total global energy and process-related emissions while only 3% of its demand comes from renewables. The UK has established a Hydrogen Strategy to meet its Net-Zero targets, as it is the most suitable alternative to decarbonize industrial hard-to-adapt processes due to its flexibility and near mature technology. Particular attention must be driven to the Refining Industry as it consumes virtually all the H2 generated by non-CCUS or renewable means. This research project compares scenarios of low-carbon H2 adoption to evaluate its potential fuel, heat, and process material uses to ultimately address funding and policy unattended challenges.

Supervisors:

• Dr. Salvador Acha, Department of Chemical Engineering
• Dr. Nixon Sunny, Centre for Environmental Policy
• Dr. Solomos Georgiou, AFRY Management Consulting
• Professor Adam Hawkes, Department of Chemical Engineering

 

Optimisation of the infrastructure for green hydrogen production from offshore wind farms

Aris Siafaras

Current changes in the energy landscape have driven the growth of new sustainable energy carriers and resources. With the abandonment of fossil fuels and the expansion of sustainable energy infrastructure, the world assesses alternative solutions to replace fossil fuels and utilise renewable sources more efficiently. Green hydrogen has been in the spotlight as a substitute, creating a lot of controversy around its cost and importance. This paper analyses the production of green hydrogen from offshore wind farms from a technical, economic and environmental perspective and assesses its cost competitiveness under different future scenarios while optimising its infrastructure configuration.

Supervisors:

• Professor Goran Strbac, Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Dr Ameli Hossein, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

 

LCA of Industrial Decarbonisation Opportunities using Hydrogen in the South Wales Industrial Cluster

Shyamaladevi Sivakumar

The transition of the industrial sector to clean and sustainable technologies is essential to reaching the net-zero goal. For the industrial clusters of the UK, even though there are works of literature broadly covering the decarbonisation methods, the decarbonisation scenario needs to be tailor-made considering the energy mix, existing industrial facilities, and geopolitical frameworks. Hence, this project aims to analyse the integration of hydrogen in the South Wales industrial cluster to develop decarbonisation scenarios and measure the environmental impacts using Life Cycle Analysis.

Supervisors:

• Professor Anna Korre, Department of Earth Science and Engineering
• Dr Zhenggang Nie, Department of Earth Science and Engineering