Enriching wind power utility through offshore wind-hydrogen-chemicals nexus: Feasible routes and their economic performance

Abstract

The offshore wind-hydrogen strategy is crucial for achieving carbon neutrality, yet faces challenges like wind power variability, surplus hydrogen, and elevated costs. Recently, linking offshore wind, hydrogen, and chemicals is proposed to address these challenges. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of this nexus. This study, as one of the first attempts, performs the techno-economic analysis of 8 feasible offshore wind-hydrogen-chemical nexus routes, in which factors of technology, economics, and financial policy are considered. The research indicates that Route 7, which incorporates offshore wind power utilizing proton exchange membrane technology for hydrogen production and blends it with natural gas on offshore platforms, demonstrates the most cost-effective outcome. The key factors influencing the cost reduction of these routes encompass the green hydrogen price, capital costs, internal rate of return, electricity price, value-added tax rate, and loan ratio. Among these, the green hydrogen price is the primary determinant influencing the cost of green products. If the price of green hydrogen decreases to 2.19 USD/kg, green synthetic ammonia can meet the current standard of 605.47 USD/t. Finally, the results can provide important reference to support stakeholders for seeking cost-effective routes of offshore wind-hydrogen-chemical nexus in China and other regions.