Strategies for Achieving the DOE Hydrogen Shot Goal: Thermal Conversion Approaches

Technical Report · Tue Jan 10 04:00:00 EST 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1910016· OSTI ID:1910016

McNaul, Shannon ^[1]; White, Charles ^[1]; Wallace, Robert ^[1]; Warner, Travis ^[1]; Matthews, H. Scott ^[1]; Ma, Jinliang N. ^[1]; Ramezan, Massood ^[1]; Lewis, Eric ^[1]; Morgan, David ^[1]; Henriksen, Megan ^[1]; White, John ^[1]; Munson, Christopher ^[1]; Stevens, Robert ^[1]; Shultz, Travis ^[1]

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1. National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

In July 2021 the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) launched the first of a series of Department-wide Energy Earthshot goals designed to accelerate breakthroughs of more abundant, affordable, and reliable clean energy solutions within the decade. The Hydrogen Shot goal seeks to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen to $$\$$$$1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade ("1 1 1"). Today, thermal conversion of fossil fuels represents the predominant, lowest cost method of hydrogen production. In 2020 approximately 75 percent of global, dedicated hydrogen production was produced via fossil fuels using thermal conversion approaches such as steam reforming and gasification. However, carbon management techniques such as CO₂ capture and sequestration (CCS) and pyrolysis are not widely represented in the current fossil-based hydrogen production fleet. Lowering the cost of clean hydrogen production from commercial and advanced thermal conversion-based technologies is critical for successfully achieving the Hydrogen Shot goal. This report presents the findings from an initial screening analysis of several scenarios that explore cost drivers related to clean hydrogen production. The screening encompasses commercially available and developing thermal conversion technology alternatives as well as factors exogenous to the plant such as feedstock/byproduct pricing, CO₂ pipeline and storage infrastructure costs, and scale to assess potential pathways towards meeting the Hydrogen Shot goal. Additionally, this report presents initial Research and Development (R&D) strategies to advance thermal conversion technology towards meeting the Hydrogen Shot goal.

• Research Organization: National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and Albany, OR (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM)
• OSTI ID: 1910016
• Report Number(s): DOE/NETL-2023/3824
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

08 HYDROGEN
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY