Environmental impacts associated with hydrogen production in La Guajira, Colombia

Abstract

The global push to decarbonize sectors of the economy and phase-out coal use has attracted a renewed interest in hydrogen. At the forefront of this debate, Colombia, the world’s 6th largest coal exporter, must consider strategies to support a just transition for regions that depend economically on coal exports. However, the role of hydrogen as a part of the energy transition has yet to be examined from an environmental justice lens. A full-chain life-cycle assessment of hydrogen production is yet to be considered in Colombia. Using life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, we examine the greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and trace metal emissions associated with six potential Colombian liquid hydrogen production strategies: (1) electrolysis powered by the country’s national electricity grid, (2) on-site electrolysis powered by electricity produced by a wind farm, (3) off-site electrolysis powered by electricity produced by a wind farm, (4) electrolysis powered by electricity produced from a coal-fired power plant, (5) coal gasification without carbon capture and storage (CCS), and (6) coal gasification with CCS. Upstream conversion has an outsized influence on the sustainability of a hydrogen transition in Colombia. Impact levels for wind-powered electrolysis are lower than those of the coal- and grid-powered scenarios for every impact category analyzed, apart from emissions of aluminum to air, nitrogen emissions to water, and phosphorous, nitrate, and nitrite emissions to soil. The grid-based electrolysis scenario is found to consume the largest amount of water, while coal-fueled scenarios pathways raise concerns of greater life-cycle mercury, nickel, and arsenic emissions. While coal gasification with CCS reduced gasification CO2 emissions by 35%, the CCS scenario’s VOC emissions were 37% greater than gasification without CCS, given that increased levels of coal inputs were required to account for the loss of efficiency associated with the addition of CCS technology. For Colombia to benefit most from a hydrogen-based decarbonization transition with minimal environmental impacts, community-focused planning and wind-based hydrogen systems should be prioritized.