Detailed techno-economic assessment of ammonia as green H2 carrier

Green hydrogen is considered as one of the key measures to tackle climate change. Transport of hydrogen from the most cost-competitive renewable electricity hubs to areas that lack such resources involves the conversion of gaseous hydrogen into a high-density liquid. In the present work, liquefied ammonia is selected as carrier for hydrogen transportation from North Africa to North Italy and the cost of each block of the value chain, synthesis, storage, maritime transport, distribution and cracking, is determined using the levelized cost method. The ammonia synthesis and cracking processes are the cost drivers of the value chain, both in the case of hydrogen utilization in the industrial sector (delivery to a hydrogen valley) and in the mobility sector (delivery to refueling stations). A transport cost in the range of 5.49–6.34 €/kg is obtained for the industrial application and in the range of 6.80–12.22 €/kg for the mobility end use.