Economic and Environmental Competitiveness of Multiple Hydrogen Production Pathways in China

Economic and Environmental Competitiveness of Multiple Hydrogen Production Pathways in China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Economic and Environmental Competitiveness of Multiple Hydrogen Production Pathways in China Bo Sun, Guangyao Fan, Hui Zhang, Fengwen Pan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4643310/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 May, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study quantifies the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) and life cycle carbon emissions (LCCE) of four hydrogen production systems via water electrolysis in 31 provinces and regions of China through the optimization method, and compares with hydrogen production via coal, natural gas, and industry by-products. The results show that the grid-connected hydrogen production system via water electrolysis, which has low-carbon advantages only in specific provinces, and time-of-use electricity prices can improve its economic competitiveness. The off-grid hydrogen production system via water electrolysis can achieve near-zero carbon emissions, although significant investment is brought by configuring larger capacities for electricity energy storage and hydrogen storage tank. In 2045–2050, it will become the most economical pathway to produce hydrogen, certain carbon reduction incentives or production subsidy may enable this to happen 5–15 years earlier. Before then, hydrogen production via industry by-products is a good alternative for the development of hydrogen energy. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Renewable energy/Hydrogen energy Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Energy modelling Hydrogen production via water electrolysis Techno-economic and environmental assessment Levelized cost of hydrogen Life cycle carbon emissions Off-grid Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files OptimizationmodelcodeforWE3.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 08 May, 2025 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4643310","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":328153903,"identity":"0e87770f-8a47-4f15-859d-fcf4c4ec9365","order_by":0,"name":"Bo 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