Suggested Citation:
Johnson, Nils, Christopher Yang, Joan M. Ogden (2009) A GIS-based Assessment of Coal-based Hydrogen Infrastructure Deployment in the State of Ohio. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 33 (20), 5287 - 5303

Hydrogen infrastructure costs will vary by region as geographic characteristics and feedstocks differ. This paper proposes a method for optimizing regional hydrogen infrastructure deployment by combining detailed spatial data in a geographic information system (GIS) with a technoeconomic model of hydrogen infrastructure components. The method is applied to a case study in Ohio in which coal-based hydrogen infrastructure with carbon capture and storage (CCS) is modeled for two distribution modes at several steady-state hydrogen vehicle market penetration levels. The paper identifies the optimal infrastructure design at each market penetration as well as the costs, CO₂ emissions, and energy use associated with each infrastructure pathway. The results indicate that aggregating infrastructure at the regional-scale yields lower levelized costs of hydrogen than at the city-level at a given market penetration level, and centralized production with pipeline distribution is the favored pathway even at low market penetration. Based upon the hydrogen infrastructure designs evaluated in this paper, coal-based hydrogen production with CCS can significantly reduce transportation-related CO₂ emissions at a relatively low infrastructure cost and levelized fuel cost.