Optimal Green Hydrogen Production and Transportation: Africa to Europe

Abstract

This paper presents an optimization framework for green hydrogen (GH) production, which integrates the operation of subsystems consisting of photovoltaic generation, reverse-osmosis desalination, proton exchange membrane electrolysis, and battery energy storage for continuous operation under solar intermittency. A two-step Ordinal Optimization (OO) method is used to explore efficiently the large design search space and identify subsystem sizes that minimize the levelized cost of hydrogen ($/kg), including production, storage, and transportation. First, the designs are evaluated using a simple but computationally efficient model based on a two-week simulation. The evaluated designs are then scaled to a yearly operation and ranked by increasing hydrogen costs. Second, the top-S designs are reevaluated using an accurate annual simulation model. OO theory predicts the number of top-S designs that need to be evaluated accurately to ensure that the optimum is included with a 95% alignment probability. This framework was applied to case studies for producing GH for local use in Tunis at a cost of $2.945, and for shipping to Genoa, Italy, and to Hamburg, Germany, at costs of $3.902 and $6.382 per kg, respectively. The study leverages the potential of renewable energy (RE) production in Tunis and its proximity to Europe.