Mapping Local Green Hydrogen Cost-Potentials by a Multidisciplinary Approach

TL;DR

This paper introduces a comprehensive multidisciplinary method to assess green hydrogen cost potentials in Sub-Saharan Africa, integrating technical, environmental, economic, and social factors to inform sustainable energy strategies.

Contribution

It presents a novel, integrated approach combining land use, renewable energy, water resources, system optimization, and socio-economic analysis for green hydrogen planning.

Findings

Case studies demonstrate the approach's applicability in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Highlights the importance of interdisciplinary data for accurate hydrogen cost assessment.

Identifies key regional factors influencing green hydrogen feasibility.

Abstract

For fast-tracking climate change response, green hydrogen is key for achieving greenhouse gas neutral energy systems. Especially Sub-Saharan Africa can benefit from it enabling an increased access to clean energy through utilizing its beneficial conditions for renewable energies. However, developing green hydrogen strategies for Sub-Saharan Africa requires highly detailed and consistent information ranging from technical, environmental, economic, and social dimensions, which is currently lacking in literature. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive novel approach embedding the required range of disciplines to analyze green hydrogen cost-potentials in Sub-Saharan Africa. This approach stretches from a dedicated land eligibility based on local preferences, a location specific renewable energy simulation, locally derived sustainable groundwater limitations under climate change, an optimization of local hydrogen energy systems, and a socio-economic indicator-based impact analysis. The capability of the approach is shown for case study regions in Sub-Saharan Africa highlighting the need for a unified, interdisciplinary approach.