Techno-economic assessment of far-offshore hydrogen-carrying energy vectors off the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

Green hydrogen (H2) generation in far-offshore locations is being proposed as an alternative for the decarbonisation of the current fossil fuel-based energy system. However, due to the limited experience and low level of maturity of the technology, an accurate and comprehensive assessment of their technical and economic feasibility is crucial. To this aim, the present paper suggests a holistic numerical model for the techno-economic assessment of diverse H2-carrying energy vectors, such as gaseous (GH2) and liquid H2 (LH2), and ammonia (NH3), in far-offshore wind farms. The model includes all the relevant stages, from energy generation, to conversion, transportation, and storage. Hence, the model enables the assessment of broad offshore areas for site selection, sensitivity analyses to identify the most relevant aspects, and optimisation procedures to identify the most suitable H2-carrying energy vector. The consistency of the model is first verified against the literature and then applied to regions off the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Results show that, compared to bathymetry or distance to port, wind resource availability is the most crucial factor to ensure the economic feasibility of the projects. Additionally, for any given site, the full electric alternative turns out to be lower than any H2-based energy vector. Among the studied H2-carrying energy vectors, GH2 is the least expensive one and nearly competitive with electricity, as LH2 and NH3 show between two- to three- times greater expenses.