Feasibility analysis and Atlas for green hydrogen project in MENA region: Production, cost, and environmental maps

Abstract

Renewable energy markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are growing quickly. Therefore, the objective of the current study is to investigate the feasibility of green hydrogen production based on the meteorological conditions within each MENAcountry utilizing a water electrolysis system powered by available solar and wind energies. In addition, it shows the opportunities for constructing hydrogen projects in MENA countries based on the available power, system performance, cost, and CO2 emission mitigation. The simulation is conducted using MATLAB/Simulink software. In addition, five degradation rates are examined in economic analysis in the context of hydrogen production from photovoltaic panels and wind turbines due to the unpredictability of the future value of money. The results revealed that the highest hydrogen production density for WT/H2 is 1.29 kg/m2 in Morocco, 1.26 kg/m2 in Egypt, 5.7 kg/m2 in Saudi Arabia, and 5.58 kg/m2 in Egypt for PV/H2. The WT/H2 system is more efficient than the PV/H2 system, with a maximum value of 31.54 %. The minimal production cost is 2.12 $/kg in Morocco and 2.17 $/kg in Egypt for the WT/H2. In the case of PV/H2, it is 3.28 $/kg in Saudi Arabia and 3.35 $/kg in Egypt. MENA countries have significant potential in hydrogen production and hydrogen investment. The range of CO2 mitigation lies between 11.47 and 87.4 kgCO2/m2. Finally, the current investigation revealed that the MENA region has an excellent opportunity to construct green hydrogen production projects based on wind/solar energies.