Economic comparison of solar hydrogen generation by means of thermochemical cycles and electrolysis

Hydrogen is acclaimed to be an energy carrier of the future. Currently, it is mainly produced by fossil fuels, which release climate-changing emissions. Thermochemical cycles, represented here by the hybrid-sulfur cycle and a metal oxide based cycle, along with electrolysis of water are the most promising processes for ‘clean’ hydrogen mass production for the future. For this comparison study, both thermochemical cycles are operated by concentrated solar thermal power for multistage water splitting. The electricity required for the electrolysis is produced by a parabolic trough power plant. For each process investment, operating and hydrogen production costs were calculated on a 50 MWth scale. The goal is to point out the potential of sustainable hydrogen production using solar energy and thermochemical cycles compared to commercial electrolysis. A sensitivity analysis was carried out for three different cost scenarios. As a result, hydrogen production costs ranging from 3.9–5.6 €/kg for the hybrid-sulfur cycle, 3.5–12.8 €/kg for the metal oxide based cycle and 2.1–6.8 €/kg for electrolysis were obtained.