The hydrogen supply chain — A comprehensive literature review incorporating purity analysis
Toni Busch, Jonas Derichs, Theresa Groß, Jochen Linßen, Detlef Stolten
Abstract
Hydrogen is an important energy vector for the transformation of the energy system towards greenhouse gas neutrality. For accurate infrastructure planning, it is necessary to consider the entire hydrogen supply chain and the different states of hydrogen. A crucial dimension for hydrogen infrastructure planning is the purity of the hydrogen. This review paper aims to provide an overview of the different purity levels of hydrogen throughout the supply chain stages of production, purification, transport, storage, and application. The results show that purification is critical in the system when hydrogen is used as a feedstock material for the chemical industry and fuel cell vehicles ( ≥ 99.97 mol%). For thermal applications, lower purity levels are sufficient ( ≥ 98 mol%). Green hydrogen production methods based on electrolysis produce higher purity levels compared to fossil hydrogen production routes. For high purity applications, purification or treatment is required for all hydrogen production methods. Pressure swing adsorption can serve as a versatile purification technology, reaching high purity levels at investment costs of 143 EUR/kW. Different transport and storage options can either introduce new impurities, maintain the purity level, or remove impurities in the associated conversion processes.