Comparative Analysis of On-site vs Off-site green-Hydrogen Value Chain Scenarios to cover projected Aviation demand : A case for Toulouse Blagnac Airport in France

Sammanfattning: Amidst the efforts to mitigate the energy-related carbon emissions of human activities and pursuing a net-zero future by 2050, the aviation sector, as part of a wider group of hard-to-decarbonize sectors is responsible for 12% of all the transportation emissions globally. Green Hydrogen as a zero-emissions alternative fuel from water and renewable energy serves as a prime candidate to replace conventional aviation fuels and lead the way towards carbon-free flights. As a result, the European hydrogen infrastructure is expected to grow rapidly in the next years, with supply chain localization being a critical factor for renewable energy sourcing and determining the overall cost of hydrogen supply. This work emphasizes on the projection of the total hydrogen fuel for commercial aviation for the airport of Toulouse, France between 2025-2050 and the comparative cost analysis of on-site versus off-site green hydrogen value chain integration to assist in understanding the influence of electricity sourcing and transportation costs in the final hydrogen price. An annualized levelized cost of Hydrogen sourcing (LCOH) is evaluated for three distinctive value chain scenarios: one onsite (Toulouse) and two offsite (Marseille) for gaseous and cryogenic transportation of hydrogen with a pipeline and trailer trucks respectively. The LCOH of the offsite electricity sourcing was calculated to be around 36% lower than onsite electricity and the electricity component was found to be responsible for more than 70% of the overall electrolysis cost. A relative cost advantage is shown for the offsite case with cryogenic truck transportation at a life-long average of €9.43/kg.LH2 (production-to-storage). Onsite production was estimated at LCOH levels of €10.24/kg.LH2 while offsite production with pipeline was found to be the most capital-intensive option at €11.11/kg.LH2 over the same 25 years project scope. The cost of electricity sourcing was found to be a critical component driving the overall hydrogen supplycost with the offsite energy price reduction benefit surpassing the additional cost burden of truck transportation but not of pipeline transportation which was estimated to be around 6times more cost intensive compared to the transportation LCOH of the trailer truck case. For LCOH parity between the offsite and onsite scenarios (at 10 €/kg.LH2) the trailer truck case would require lower energy sourcing cost of at least 20 €/MWh and the pipeline transportation of at least 40 €/MWh lower compared to the onsite cases sourcing cost. Although recommended that stakeholders of future hydrogen infrastructure can consider trailer trucks as a low-cost option for demands of a few hundred tons per day, the pipeline costreduction trends for higher demands and higher lifespan compared to trailer trucks, setgaseous pipeline supply chain in an advantageous position for a longer timeline and beyond 2050 in cases where onsite electricity prices are high.