Skip to main content

Research

Hydrogen Techno-Economic Analysis

Techno-economic models that turn catalyst and reactor decisions into cost per kg of hydrogen — second-life fuel cells, compression, LOHC.

  • Economics
Hydrogen Techno-Economic Analysis schematic

Background

Hydrogen technologies ultimately compete on delivered cost per kilogram, not on lab metrics alone. Levelized-cost models make that comparison explicit — and show which catalyst and process targets actually move the number.

What I did

  • Built a refueling-station LCOH model from scratch, comparing competing designs on one cost basis.
  • Contributed the compressor-stage techno-economic assessment for a high-pressure hydrogen system — see Sodium Borohydride for Hydrogen Mobility & Compression.
  • Built the cost–benefit model for a 1 MW CHP plant on retired vehicle fuel-cell stacks — the contest-winning analysis.
  • Modeled the levelized cost of an overseas LOHC green-hydrogen supply chain for a 1,000 MW co-firing plant.

Case study: second-life fuel-cell power

  • Automotive stacks retire at roughly 90% state-of-health after about 5,000 hours of hard duty cycling; steady stationary load points to lifetimes approaching 80,000 hours.
  • 1 MW plant from ~14 retired stacks (73.8 kW each), running 7,884 hours a year; discounted at 1.7%, the A+ corporate bond rate at the time.
  • Stack procurement ≈ ₩36M per retired stack (₩490M for the plant, a conservative 10% residual-value discount).
  • By-product hydrogen at ₩2,450/kg, ~700 tonnes/yr — the dominant operating cost.
  • Revenue ≈ ₩1.3bn/yr electricity (₩165/kWh) + ₩1.1bn/yr heat (₩83/kWh).

Case study: LOHC supply-chain economics

  • Chain: hydrogenation abroad, VLCC transport, dehydrogenation using the plant’s waste heat, co-firing in a 1,000 MW LNG turbine.
  • Baseline delivered hydrogen ≈ $2.6/kg levelized; the green-hydrogen purchase price is the dominant term (a $2→8/kg sweep moves delivered cost to ~$8.6/kg).
  • The sensitivity sweep turns catalyst KPIs into economic requirements. Feasibility thresholds: catalyst space velocity > 1 h⁻¹, durability > 3,000 h, shipment scale > 100 kton, green hydrogen < $2/kg.

Outcomes

  • First Prize for the second-life stack analysis at the 1st Future Automotive Industry Idea Contest (Foundation of Korea Automotive Parts Industry Promotion), November 10, 2022.
  • Turned catalyst KPIs into economic feasibility thresholds for the overseas LOHC supply chain.
  • Overseas LOHC chain modeled at about $2.6/kg delivered hydrogen, levelized.