The techno-economics potential of hydrogen interconnectors for electrical energy transmission and storage
Max Patel, Sumit Roy, Anthony Paul Roskilly, Andrew Smallbone
Abstract
This research introduces a ‘Hydrogen Interconnector System’ (HIS) as a novel method for transporting electrical energy over long distances. The system takes electricity from stranded renewable energy assets, converts it to hydrogen in an electrolyser plant, transports hydrogen to the demand centre via pipeline, where it is reconverted to electricity in either a gas turbine or fuel cell plant. This paper evaluates the competitiveness of the technology with High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) systems, calculating the following techno-economic indicators; Levelised Cost Of Electricity (LCOE) and Levelised Cost Of Storage (LCOS). The results suggest that the LCOE of the HIS is competitive with HVDC for construction in 2050 with distance beyond 350 km in case of all scenarios for a 1 GW system. The LCOS is lower than an HVDC system using large scale hydrogen storage in 6 out of 12 scenarios analysed, including for construction from 2025. The HIS was also applied to three case studies, with the results showing that the system outperforms HVDC from LCOS perspectives in all cases, and has 15%–20% lower investment costs in 2 studies analysed.