Recent progress and techno-economic analysis of liquid organic hydrogen carriers for Australian renewable energy export – A critical review

Abstract

Hydrogen, as a primary carbon-free energy carrier is confronted by challenges in storage and transportation. However, liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) present a promising solution for storing and transporting hydrogen at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. Unlike circular energy carriers such as methanol, ammonia, and synthetic natural gas, LOHCs do not produce by-products during hydrogen recovery. LOHCs only act as hydrogen carriers and the carriers can also be recycled for reuse. Although there are considerable advantages to LOHCs, there are also some drawbacks, especially relative to the energy consumption during the dehydrogenation step of the LOHC recycling. This review summarizes the recent progresses in LOHC technologies, focusing on catalyst developments, process and reactor designs, applications, and techno-economic assessments (TEA). LOHC technologies can potentially offer significant benefits to Australia, especially in terms of hydrogen as an export commodity. LOHCs can help avoid capital costs associated with infrastructure, such as transportation vessels, while reducing hydrogen loss during transportation, such as in the case of liquid hydrogen (LH2). Additionally, it minimises CO2 emissions, as observed in methane and methanol reforming. Thus, it is essential to dedicate more efforts to explore and develop LOHC technologies in the Australian context.