Economic Evaluation and Future Feasibility Analysis of the Coal Chemical Industry Coupled with Green Hydrogen Technology

In the context of China's goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, the coal chemical industry, as a carbon intensive industry, is under great pressure to reduce emissions. The coupling of the coal chemical industry and green hydrogen to replace the production of hydrogen from coal will significantly reduce the carbon emission of the coal chemical industry. This paper reviews the current development status of the coal chemical industry and hydrogen energy industry and related policies, analyzes the feasibility and development trend of coupling the coal chemical industry with green hydrogen technology, and makes economic evaluation and feasibility prediction of the coupling by self-developed techno-economic analysis model. The results show that the cost competitiveness of the coupling is expected to be formed around 2030 at the earliest, and the price parity is expected to be achieved around 2035 compared with coal chemical coupling with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The investment cost of equipment, electricity cost and carbon trading price have a greater impact on the future feasibility of green hydrogen. At the provincial level, due to the different conditions of scenery resources, coal price and electricity price, there are some differences in the year when green hydrogen achieves parity, among which the investment cost of equipment, electricity cost and carbon trading price have more influence on the future feasibility of green hydrogen. Based on the above findings, this paper proposes the following suggestions: (1) strengthen the top-level design at the national level based on the existing policies and plans, and clarify the strategic position of hydrogen energy under the goals of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality in China; (2) increase the efforts of local governments based on the existing hydrogen energy policies, encourage the infrastructure layout and business model innovation, and promote the development of green hydrogen industry; (3) strengthen the independent research and development and application demonstration support of electrolyzer and renewable energy power generation technology; (4) actively promote the development of carbon market.