Site-Dependent Environmental Impacts of Industrial Hydrogen Production by Alkaline Water Electrolysis

Industrial hydrogen production via alkaline water electrolysis (AEL) is a mature hydrogen production method. One argument in favor of AEL when supplied with renewable energy is its environmental superiority against conventional fossil-based hydrogen production. However, today electricity from the national grid is widely utilized for industrial applications of AEL. Also, the ban on asbestos membranes led to a change in performance patterns, making a detailed assessment necessary. This study presents a comparative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) using the GaBi software (version 6.115, thinkstep, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany), revealing inventory data and environmental impacts for industrial hydrogen production by latest AELs (6 MW, Zirfon membranes) in three different countries (Austria, Germany and Spain) with corresponding grid mixes. The results confirm the dependence of most environmental effects from the operation phase and specifically the site-dependent electricity mix. Construction of system components and the replacement of cell stacks make a minor contribution. At present, considering the three countries, AEL can be operated in the most environmentally friendly fashion in Austria. Concerning the construction of AEL plants the materials nickel and polytetrafluoroethylene in particular, used for cell manufacturing, revealed significant contributions to the environmental burden.

[1]  S. Shiva Kumar,et al.  Hydrogen production by PEM water electrolysis – A review , 2019 .

[2]  W. Winiwarter,et al.  EU Energy, Transport and GHG Emissions: Trends to 2050, Reference Scenario 2013 , 2013 .

[3]  W. Biswas,et al.  Environmental life cycle feasibility assessment of hydrogen as an automotive fuel in Western Australia , 2013 .

[4]  Philippe A. Tanguy,et al.  Hydrogen mobility from wind energy – A life cycle assessment focusing on the fuel supply , 2016 .

[5]  Vincenzo Antonucci,et al.  Renewable energy for hydrogen production and sustainable urban mobility , 2010 .

[6]  Jan Christian Koj,et al.  Life Cycle Assessment of Improved High Pressure Alkaline Electrolysis , 2015 .

[7]  C. Bauer,et al.  Transition to Hydrogen: Life cycle assessment of hydrogen production , 2011 .

[8]  I. Dincer,et al.  Comparative assessment of hydrogen production methods from renewable and non-renewable sources , 2014 .

[9]  J. Fierro,et al.  Life cycle assessment of alternatives for hydrogen production from renewable and fossil sources , 2012 .

[10]  Pantelis Capros,et al.  European decarbonisation pathways under alternative technological and policy choices: A multi-model analysis☆ , 2014 .

[11]  Diego Iribarren,et al.  Life cycle assessment of hydrogen energy systems: a review of methodological choices , 2017, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[12]  Martin Kaltschmitt,et al.  Wasserstoff als Kraftstoff im Deutschen Verkehrssektor , 2013 .

[13]  Dongke Zhang,et al.  Recent progress in alkaline water electrolysis for hydrogen production and applications , 2010 .

[14]  Rana Pant,et al.  Integrated assessment of environmental impact of Europe in 2010: data sources and extrapolation strategies for calculating normalisation factors , 2015, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[15]  Pennington David,et al.  Analysis of material recovery from silicon photovoltaic panels , 2016 .

[16]  Jens Teubler,et al.  Assessing the need for critical minerals to shift the German energy system towards a high proportion of renewables , 2015 .

[17]  G. Naterer,et al.  Life cycle assessment of various hydrogen production methods , 2012 .

[18]  Thomas Pregger,et al.  Hydrogen generation by electrolysis and storage in salt caverns: Potentials, economics and systems aspects with regard to the German energy transition , 2017 .