Exploring the role of hydrogen in decarbonizing energy-intensive industries: A techno-economic analysis of a solid oxide fuel cell cogeneration system

Industry is nowadays one of the most energy-demanding sectors representing a major contributor of global greenhouse gas emissions. The simultaneous need for electricity and high-temperature heat is what makes some industrial processes difficult to decarbonize via current commercially available technologies. As the demand for materials and goods is expected to grow in the upcoming years, it is crucial to define which strategies and technologies will serve as the cornerstone of sustainable development. This study addresses the imperative need for emission reduction of energy-intensive sectors by proposing a novel hydrogen-based cogeneration system in the framework of the paper and pulp industry, with the aim of providing general insights relevant to a broader spectrum of similar applications. The comparative analysis presented in this work focuses on three cogeneration options aimed at satisfying the paper mill energy needs: a conventional natural gas-fuelled gas turbine, a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) fed with grey hydrogen produced via steam methane reforming, and a SOFC operating using green hydrogen produced on-site. The latter involves an integrated multi-energy system with photovoltaic panels, electrolyzers, compressors, and storage tanks. Indeed, the SOFC potential of supplying electricity and high-temperature heat in the form of pressurized steam for industrial applications has not been well investigated yet and represents one of the main objectives of this work. Building on the real consumption profiles of a paper mill facility, techno-economic analyses are carried out for many system configurations, varying components size and layout to assess their performance with respect to CO2 emissions and two key economic parameters, the Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) and the net present cost. An in-house-developed flexible simulation framework is presented and expanded for the purposes of this study, including a detailed model that accounts for design and off-design performance of a SOFC cogeneration unit. Results demonstrate that integrating a SOFC with a heat recovery steam generator result in a 75% reduction in the mass flow of generable pressurized steam in comparison to a gas turbine. Additionally, in the cost-optimal scenario, CO2 emissions are 25% lower than the conventional gas turbine-based configuration, achieving complete independence from the electricity grid and an LCOH of 5.81/kg without considering revenues from electricity sold.