Techno-economic calculations of small-scale hydrogen supply systems for zero emission transport in Norway

In Norway, where nearly 100% of the power is hydroelectric, it is natural to consider water electrolysis as the main production method of hydrogen for zero-emission transport. In a startup market with low demand for hydrogen, one may find that small-scale WE-based hydrogen production is more cost-efficient than large-scale production because of the potential to reach a high number of operating hours at rated capacity and high overall system utilization rate. Two case studies addressing the levelized costs of hydrogen in local supply systems have been evaluated in the present work: (1) Hydrogen production at a small-scale hydroelectric power plant (with and without on-site refueling) and (2) Small hydrogen refueling station for trucks (with and without on-site hydrogen production). The techno-economic calculations of the two case studies show that the levelized hydrogen refueling cost at the small-scale hydroelectric power plant (with a local station) will be 141 NOK/kg, while a fleet of 5 fuel cell trucks will be able to refuel hydrogen at a cost of 58 NOK/kg at a station with on-site production or 71 NOK/kg at a station based on delivered hydrogen. The study shows that there is a relatively good business case for local water electrolysis and supply of hydrogen to captive fleets of trucks in Norway, particularly if the size of the fleet is sufficiently large to justify the installation of a relatively large water electrolyzer system (economies of scale). The ideal concept would be a large fleet of heavy-duty vehicles (with a high total hydrogen demand) and a refueling station with nearly 100% utilization of the installed hydrogen production capacity.