Modeling and Technical-Economic Analysis of a Hydrogen Transport Network for France

This work aims to study the technical and economical feasibility of a new hydrogen transport network by 2035 in France. The goal is to furnish charging stations for fuel cell electrical vehicles with hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water using low-carbon energy. Contrary to previous research works on hydrogen transport for road transport, we assume a more realistic assumption of the demand side: we assume that only drivers driving more than 20,000 km per year will switch to fuel cell electrical vehicles. This corresponds to a total demand of 100 TWh of electricity for the production of hydrogen by electrolysis. To meet this demand, we primarily use surplus electricity production from wind power. This surplus will satisfy approximately 10% of the demand. We assume that the rest of the demand will be produced using surplus from nuclear power plants disseminated in regions. We also assume a decentralized production, namely, that 100 MW electrolyzers will be placed near electricity production plants. Using an optimization model, we define the hydrogen transport network by considering decentralized production. Then we compare it with more centralized production. Our main conclusion is that decentralized production makes it possible to significantly reduce distribution costs, particularly due to significantly shorter transport distances.