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Importing green chemical energy carriers is crucial for meeting European climate targets. However, estimating the costs of supplying these energy carriers to Europe remains challenging, leading to a wide range of reported supply-cost estimates. This study analyzes the estimated supply costs of green chemical energy carriers at the European border using a dataset of 1050 data points from 30 studies. The results reveal significant variations in supply costs, with a projected four-fold difference in 2030 and a five-fold difference in 2050 across all energy carriers. The main drivers of cost differences are varying production costs, particularly influenced by the weighted average costs of capital and capital expenditures of renewable energy sources, electrolyzers, and carrier-specific conversion processes. Transport costs also contribute to variations, mainly influenced by the choice of energy carrier and the weighted average costs of capital. To optimize cost-efficiency and sustainability in the chemical energy carrier sector, this paper recommends prioritizing transparency and sensitivity analyses of key input parameters, classifying energy carriers based on technological and economic status, and encouraging research and development to reduce production costs. • Meta-Analysis of 30 studies on the supply costs of chemical energy carriers to Europe. • Database of supply costs, cost components, and their parametric assumptions. • The supply costs of all energy carriers vary fourfold in 2030 and fivefold in 2050 and are dominated by production costs. • Most significant parameters for production costs are the weighted average costs of capital and capital expenditures of electrolyzers and conversion. • Transport costs depend significantly on the choice of energy carrier and the weighted average costs of capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-energy systems that combine different energy sources and carriers to improve the overall technical, economic, and environmental performance can boost the energy transition. In this paper we posit an innovative multi-energy system for green hydrogen production that achieves negative carbon emissions by combining bio-fuel membrane-integrated steam reforming and renewable electricity electrolysis. The system produces green hydrogen and carbon dioxide, both at high purity. We use thermo-chemical models to determine the system performance and optimal working parameters. Specifically, we focus on its ability to achieve negative carbon emissions. The results show that in optimal operating conditions the system can capture up to 14.1 g of CO 2 per MJ of stored hydrogen and achieves up to 70% storage efficiency. Therefore, we prove that a multi-energy system may reach the same efficiency of an average electrolyzer while implementing carbon capture. In the same optimal operating conditions the system converts 7.8 kg of biogas in 1 kg of hydrogen using 3.2 kg of oxygen coming from the production of 6.4 kg of hydrogen through the electrolyzer. With such ratios we estimate that the conversion of all the biogas produced in Europe with our system, could result in the installation of additional dedicated 800 GWp - 1280 GWp of photovoltaic power, or of 266 GWp - 532 GWp of wind power, without affecting the distribution grid and covering yearly the 45% of the worldwide hydrogen demand while removing from the atmosphere more than 2% of the European carbon dioxide emissions. • A Multi-energy system that produce hydrogen with negative CO 2 emissions. • More than 800 GWp of new photovoltaic power without grid burdens. • More than 800 GWp of new wind power without grid burdens. • Capture 56 Mton/year of CO 2 from the atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide about 550 hydrogen refueling stations (HRS) were in operation in 2021, of which 38% were in Europe. With their number expected to grow even further, the collection and investigation of real-world station operative data are fundamental to tracking their activity in terms of safety issues, performances, maintenance, reliability, and energy use. This paper analyses the parameters that characterize the refueling of 350 bar fuel cell buses (FCB) in five HRS within the 3Emotion project. The HRS are characterized by different refueling capacities, hydrogen supply schemes, storage volumes and pressures, and operational strategies. The FCB operate over various duty cycles circulating on urban and extra-urban routes. From data logs provided by the operators, a dataset of four years of operation has been created. The results show a similar hydrogen amount per fill distribution but quite different refueling times among the stations. The average daily mass per bus and refueling time are around 14.62 kg and 10.28 min. About 50% of the total amount of hydrogen is dispensed overnight, and the refueling events per bus are typically every 24 h. On average, the buses' time spent in service is 10 h per day. The hydrogen consumption is approximately 7 kg/100 km, a rather effective result reached by the technology. The station utilization is below 30% for all sites, the buses availability hardly exceeds 80%. • Small/medium-sized hydrogen refueling stations performance analysis. • Investigation of fuel cell buses operation under real-world conditions. • Actual demand is lower than the planned maximum capacity suggesting future bus fleets ramp up potentiality. • On average, the fuel cell buses consume 7 kg H2 /100 km, meeting the EU targets. • The majority of the refuelings are performed overnight from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. to secure capacity and availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU is promoting hydrogen as enabling energy carrier that may account for up to 20% of energy and especially fulfill between 20% and 50% of transportation demands and between 5% and 20% of industrial needs. To ensure the success of this shift, Power-to-Hydrogen and Hydrogen-to-X technologies have attracted significant interest because they transform renewable power directly into green hydrogen, via water electrolysis, which can be stored and transferred more readily than other fuels for several end-uses. The present paper aims to discuss the role of such technologies in the current and future energy systems, with a specific reference to the European scenario. The main energy sectors where hydrogen could play an important role will be discussed, such as transportation, power generation, manufacturing sectors, refining and agriculture, with a focus on potential technological integration and synergies, providing a guideline for industrial players up to 2050 with a discussion about technology maturity by presenting short-term/long-term roadmaps. [Display omitted] • Overview of green hydrogen production and Power-to-Hydrogen concepts. • Focus on European hydrogen demand and potential hydrogen applications. • Overview of several concepts of Hydrogen-to-X, enabling sector coupling. • Hydrogen can store energy with capacities ranging from 1 MW to 10 GW. • Hydrogen has the potential to meet 5–20% of industrial energy needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is often suggested as a universal fuel that can replace fossil fuels. This paper analyses the feasibility of direct hydrogen utilisation in all energy sectors in a 100% renewable energy system for Europe in 2050 using hour-by-hour energy system analysis. Our results show that using hydrogen for heating purposes has high costs and low energy efficiency. Hydrogen for electricity production is beneficial only in limited quantities to restrict biomass consumption, but increases the system costs due to losses. The transport sector results show that hydrogen is an expensive alternative to liquid e-fuels and electrified transport due to high infrastructure costs and respectively low energy efficiency. The industry sector may benefit from hydrogen to reduce biomass at a lower cost than in the other energy sectors, but electrification and e-methane may be more feasible. Seen from a systems perspective, hydrogen will play a key role in future renewable energy systems, but primarily as e-fuel feedstock rather than direct end-fuel in the hard-to-abate sectors. • Hour-by-hour energy system analysis for direct green hydrogen utilisation in Europe. • Hydrogen for industrial demands can lower biomass consumption. • Power production applications are costly and limited for hydrogen. • Hydrogen for heating is more expensive than heat pumps and district heating. • E-fuels should be the main application for hydrogen in the transport sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green hydrogen production investment is encouraged for GHG reduction while cryptocurrency mining might be more lucrative. GHG emission reduction may visibly happen in areas of attention while other dirty businesses can grow in the shadow due to inconsistent carbon policies. This paper sheds light on the importance of integrated regulatory policies among cross markets to nail a tangible global impact on GHG emissions. The levelized cost of hydrogen production via grid-connected electrolysis is calculated at around 4 €/kgH2 in Europe. The scenario-based analyses on the current markets indicate that investments in the water-splitting industries can be as attractive as BTC mining if the products are fully purchased at prices above 20 €/kgH2. Such a deep economic chasm can be moderated by policymakers. Crypto Tax is introduced to interconnect the purchased price of hydrogen with the BTC market by tagging the coins regarding the mining origins. Cryptocurrency miners are obliged to provide dynamic subsidies for electrolyzers depending on their emission coefficients and the coin prices. Simulations confirm that the crypto tax leaves insignificant impacts when BTC falls below 10,000$; however, cryptocurrency rushes, like in 2020–2021, can be harnessed in favor of green hydrogen production. The efficacy of crypto tax is also showcased by Net Present Value (NPV) trajectories for BTC soaring up to 100,000$. • Comparative profitability analysis of water electrolysis and BTC mining. • Marginal and attractive price estimations for green hydrogen production in Europe. • Crypto tax introduction to interconnect BTC and hydrogen markets. • Interception of NPV planes for projected BTC prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blending green hydrogen within the gas infrastructure is seen as the first move towards Europe's climate neutrality by 2050. Especially, Europe and North African have privileged role in energy cooperation sharing a woven and complex set of natural resources, knowledge, infrastructure, clear goals towards sustainable development. Developing common projects about hydrogen can mutually help both Europe and North Africa to achieve more sustainable, reliable and modern energy systems. This paper simulates the Greenstream gas corridor (connecting Libya to Italy) under increasing hydrogen blending scenarios using a transient and multi-component fluid-dynamic model of the gas transmission system. The additional compression energy required and the compressors' operating hours are evaluated under the hypothesis that the energy content of the transported gas is maintained. The hydrogen profiles needed to generate the blends are obtained and used to optimally size a photovoltaic-powered electrolysis system, minimizing the compressed hydrogen storage. The results indicate that the additional energy costs of transporting hydrogen blends are up to 32.5% higher than natural gas transport, while negligibly impacting the overall efficiency of energy transport. The mismatch between solar hydrogen production and pipeline receiving potential highlights a challenge to be tackled to boost intersectoral integration. • Increasing European and North Africa cooperation with green hydrogen shared projects. • Multi-component transient fluid-dynamic gas network model applied to Greenstream. • Assessment of hydrogen blending scenarios on transmission energy costs. • Sizing of green hydrogen production electrolysis plant. • Hydrogen buffer storage design to control gas quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tackling climate change requires to decarbonize all energy applications. To that end, producing hydrogen from low-carbon electricity and water by means of water electrolysis is garnering increasing attention. Hydrogen can indeed be used directly or further synthetized into chemical compounds that replace fossil fuels, hence providing a solution to address energy applications ill-suited for direct electrification. This concept, coined as power-to-X (PtX), remains yet in a formative phase characterized by high uncertainty. This paper takes on a technological innovation system (TIS) approach to examining the development of PtX in Europe. TIS surmises that technology diffusion is influenced by the structures of the socio-technical system it is part of and by how the latter functions. The case study engages TIS with the complexity of multi-sectoral, multi-purpose technology and explores the incorporation of social network analysis to scrutinize application configuration. The paper finds that the European PtX-TIS is growing and shows early signs of system building motor of innovation. However, the analysis also suggests that the lack of market formation and the underlying conflicts of interest across its wide actors' basis might jeopardize its future development. • The power-to-X technological innovation system is building up in Europe. • The build-up of the power-to-X innovation system remains precarious. • Power-to-X development varies significantly across technological pathways. • The multi-purpose nature of power-to-X impacts its innovation system development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of hydrogen in a future energy system with a high share of variable renewable energy sources (VRES) is regarded as crucial in order to balance fluctuations in electricity generation. These fluctuations can be compensated for by flexibility measures such as the expansion of transmission, flexible generation, larger back-up capacity and storage. Salt cavern storage is the most promising technology due to its large storage capacity, followed by pumped hydro storage. For the underground storage of chemical energy carriers such as hydrogen, salt caverns offer the most promising option owing to their low investment cost, high sealing potential and low cushion gas requirement. This paper provides a suitability assessment of European subsurface salt structures in terms of size, land eligibility and storage capacity. Two distinct cavern volumes of 500,000 m3 and 750,000 m3 are considered, with preference being given for salt caverns over bedded salt deposits and salt domes. The storage capacities of individual caverns are estimated on the basis of thermodynamic considerations based on site-specific data. The results are analyzed using three different scenarios: onshore and offshore salt caverns, only onshore salt caverns and only onshore caverns within 50 km of the shore. The overall technical storage potential across Europe is estimated at 84.8 PWh H2 , 27% of which constitutes only onshore locations. Furthermore, this capacity decreases to 7.3 PWh H2 with a limitation of 50 km distance from shore. In all cases, Germany has the highest technical storage potential, with a value of 9.4 PWh H2, located onshore only in salt domes in the north of the country. Moreover, Norway has 7.5 PWh H2 of storage potential for offshore caverns, which are all located in the subsurface of the North Sea Basin. • Technical H 2 storage in bedded salt deposits and salt domes across Europe. • Potential is thermodynamically derived, and respects geospatial exclusions. • Total on- and offshore European hydrogen storage potential estimated at 84.8 PWh H2. • Onshore salt caverns within 50 km of the coast constitute 7.3 PWh H2 (~30%). • Highest national storage potential is observed in Germany with 9.4 PWh H2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is an energy carrier which can be used to store variable renewable energy and face varying electricity demand and generation-driven fluctuations reducing the negative effects of the increasing share of renewables in the European energy mixes. The aim of this paper is to pinpoint and assess non-economic barriers (NEBs) that can slow down the deployment of hydrogen technologies and infrastructures in Europe. The method includes an expert opinion survey involving selected European experts to identify main NEBs, estimate their impacts, describe their effects, highlight suitable measures to overcome them and pinpoint hitches that make difficult to overtake them. Collecting the information gathered by written questionnaires and in-depth interviews of experts of almost all European countries, the obtained results provide an overall framework of main NEBs identifying the role of forthcoming policies and governmental actions to overcome each barrier. Lastly, preliminary exploitation strategies have been outlined for improving the utilization of hydrogen as an effective energy carrier for storing and to more efficiently use renewable energy produced in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]