Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions using the sustainable systems-thinking approach by utilizing cost-effective hydrogen production with a lower environmental footprint

Abstract

Hydrogen (H₂) is an important energy carrier that can fuel the future as society seeks to engage in energy transition with sustainable, emission-free solutions. Hydrogen is a clean-burning fuel to generate energy as only water is produced when it is burned. Currently, nearly all commercially available Hydrogen worldwide is processed via Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) and Electrolysis ("green" Hydrogen). However, SMR is responsible for associated CO₂ emissions, significantly contributing to global greenhouse gas (GHG).

This thesis aims to techno-economically assess whether emission-free Methane Pyrolysis technology for Hydrogen production could operationalize in the energy industry as a sustainable technology that supports a clean energy transition strategy that reduces potent GHG emissions. It starts by providing a background on the importance of questioning the impact of GHG emissions on climate change covered in the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) portfolios. The Object Process Methodology (OPM) compares two leading Hydrogen production technologies, SMR and Electrolysis, with a relatively new technology called Methane Pyrolysis, a thermal decomposition of methane that produces clean Hydrogen (without CO₂ emissions) and Solid Carbon. For Hydrogen demand, eXtremOS simulation model was used to forecast European socio-technical energy system scenarios and clean energy transformation pathways. The forecasted H₂ demand was used as an input assumption for the simple Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) modeling to estimate and cross-reference hydrogen production costs for three technologies with different capital expenses (CAPEX), fixed and variable operational expenses (OPEX), feedstock, energy requirements, and carbon emissions.

The continuous search for emissions-free operations creates an opportunity for the new technology to position itself as a direct replacement for SMR. The final sections of the thesis highlight the sensitivity of critical uncertainties and the current level of new technology and market readiness challenge to provide the author's views and recommendations on the complexity and feasibility of Methane Pyrolysis technology and its prospects.