Design and operation of a future hydrogen supply chain - Snapshot model

Much of the early research in the hydrogen supply chain area was focused on individual technologies of the supply chain, such as production, storage, or distribution, rather than dealing with the supply chain as a whole. The motivation behind this paper is the need to: (1) design a hydrogen supply chain that integrates the previously mentioned components within a single framework, (2) understand the important trade-offs in such a supply chain, and (3) have a full understanding of the data requirements and uncertainties in such an exercise. Optimization techniques were implemented to develop the hydrogen supply chain for the transport sector, therefore, determining the optimum infrastructural and operational costs. Of course, cost is not likely to be the sole determinant of performance in practice. The network of interest was formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem. Also, the network is presented as a steady state 'snapshot' problem using Great Britain as a backdrop. The model and assumptions presented in this paper reveal that the optimum future hydrogen supply chain might consist of medium-to-large, centralized methane steam reforming plants. The hydrogen produced from these plants will then be delivered as a liquid via tanker trucks and stored in centralized storage facilities.