Hydrate-Based Hydrogen Storage and Transportation System: Energy, Exergy, Economic Analysis

With the rapid depletion of non-renewable fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gas, hydrogen is poised to emerge as a leading clean energy source in the future energy structure. However, a significant challenge in establishing a hydrogen economy for countries with uneven energy distribution is the development of efficient and low-cost hydrogen storage technologies. Therefore, current study proposes the technology of hydrated hydrogen storage and conducts a comprehensive study of the entire system composed of hydrogen hydrate production, transportation and regasification by 3E analysis (energy, exergy, and economic). The results indicate that the specified power consumption (SPC) of the entire system is 7.46 kWh/kg H₂, with the SPC of the hydrogen storage process being 4.02 kWh/kg H₂. The exergy loss of the system is mainly in hydrogen storage process, with exergy efficiency of 35.65%. Additionally, at a capacity of 1TPD (tons per day), the estimated levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is 28.12 CNY/kg H₂. Sensitivity analysis is incorporated to assess how the scale, distance, and electricity cost influence the LCOH eventually. It can be seen that scale and distance are the main factors affecting the cost, so the technology is suitable for medium-scale and short-distance hydrogen transportation. The miniaturization and low energy consumption of hydrated hydrogen storage technology lay the foundation for its industrial development, and the entire system is theoretically feasible. It is recommended that numerical simulation studies be conducted on hydrate formation unit in the future to accelerate the industrialization process of hydrate storage technology.