New research from Saudi Arabia shows that PV, concentrated solar power (CSP), or hybrid PV-CSP systems could significantly reduce the levelized cost of hydrogen. CSP offers higher capacity factors, but PV-driven electrolysis provides the lowest projected cost for hydrogen production.
Researchers from Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals have studied the technical and economic feasibility of producing green hydrogen using standalone PV, CSP, or hybrid PV-CSP systems.
“Instead of limiting ourselves to levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) calculation and optimization, we also evaluated the environmental impact including land use and water consumption, in the context of regional conditions,” researcher Awad Alquaity told pv magazine.
The team’s analysis included conceptual design, feasibility assessment, techno-economic evaluation, and environmental impact studies. They modeled green hydrogen production using solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) electrolysis, operating independently of the power grid. The study focused initially on Dhahran, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, and later extended to Aswan (EGY), Ouarzazate (MAR), Dubai (ARE), and Rutba (IRQ).
The researchers used the optimization tool in the SAM software developed by the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to simulate operational and financial metrics for each solar technology.
The PV system was built with excess capacity to meet SOEC hydrogen production needs and charge batteries with 9 hours of storage. The CSP system was designed as a solar tower incorporating a heliostat field, receiver, thermal energy storage, and a Rankine cycle-based power block.
In the first year, the PV plant produced 488.5 GWh of AC electricity, while the CSP plant generated 434.6 GWh. The CSP system had a higher capacity factor of 55.4%, compared to 24.8% for PV. However, the PV system had a lower levelized cost of energy (LCOE) at $0.0533/kWh, versus $0.0854/kWh for CSP.
This resulted in the PV system achieving a lower LCOH of $4.23/kg, compared to $4.95/kg for the CSP system.
The sensitivity analysis showed that LCOH is highly affected by changes in capital expenditure and LCOE.
“A 20% increase in Capex results in a 14.8% increase in LCOH for the PV scenario, while a 20% increase in LCOE leads to an 8.9% rise in LCOH for the CSP scenario,” Alquaity said. “We also found that CSP offers lower lifecycle emissions and reduced land use. However, CSP’s on-site water consumption of 0.2 L/kWh makes it more suitable for coastal areas with water access.”
The study is detailed in the paper “Techno-economic analysis of green hydrogen production in Saudi Arabia: A comparative study of solar PV and CSP technologies,” which was recently published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.
“This work is among the first in Saudi Arabia to assess hybrid PV-CSP systems for hydrogen production, offering insights into their viability across the Middle East and supporting the region’s transition to a sustainable hydrogen economy,” said Alquaity.