Materializing International Trade of Decarbonized Hydrogen Through Optimization in Both Economic and Environmental Aspects

Abstract

As deviations in H2 production capacity by countries become a considerable barrier to the realization of the global H2 economy, international trade between countries with abundant resources and those with limited resources is required. In line with this trend, numerous supply chains between several countries have been planned, and associated studies have been conducted. However, the study which treats international overseas H2 trade chains considering numerous major importing and exporting countries has rarely been conducted before. In this study, a comprehensive optimization for the overseas H2 supply chain considering the three major importing countries including Korea, Japan, and Germany was conducted with mixed-integer linear programming considering both economic and environmental aspects simultaneously. Through the optimization study, the most feasible H2 supply chains for each importing country could be verified according to years and case scenarios. Blue H2 from Qatar turns out to be the most feasible supply chain for Japan in 2030, while green H2 from South Africa is the most feasible one for other importing countries. In 2040, green H2 from South Africa and Australia becomes the best one for Asian importers, and Australia finally dominates all the supplies after 2050. In the case of Germany, green H2 from Spain is considered the best after 2040. Depending on the scenario, the difference in the selected countries and supply amounts is not significant, though the costs are varied. Ammonia turns out to be the most feasible carrier for H2, and the total cost including the carbon tax ranges from 2.15 to 3.43 $ kgH2 –1, which is a range from the current green H2 to the blue H2 price.