Sustainability Assessment of Harmonised Hydrogen Energy Systems: Guidelines for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and Prospective Benchmarking

Project Information

SH2E

Grant agreement ID: 101007163

DOI

10.3030/101007163

Project closed

EC signature date 9 December 2020

Start date 1 January 2021

End date 30 June 2024

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 2 142 778,75

EU contribution

€ 1 997 616,25

Coordinated by

Fundacion IMDEA Energia
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - SH2E (Sustainability Assessment of Harmonised Hydrogen Energy Systems: Guidelines for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment and Prospective Benchmarking)

Reporting period: 2023-07-01 to 2024-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Hydrogen is expected to play a key role as an energy carrier in the path towards global sustainability. Nevertheless, right decisions are needed to make fuel cells and hydrogen (FCH) systems effective in this crusade. Besides technological advancements, methodological solutions that allow checking the suitability of FCH systems under sustainability aspects from a life-cycle perspective are needed to sensibly support decision-making. Such methodological contributions should rely on well-defined guidelines that allow a reliable assessment and benchmarking of FCH systems. In this sense, sound guidelines for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) of FCH systems are urgently needed.

SH2E aimed at providing a harmonised (i.e. methodologically consistent) multi-dimensional framework for the LCSA and prospective benchmarking of FCH systems. To that end, SH2E developed and demonstrated specific guidelines for the environmental (LCA), economic (LCC) and social (SLCA) life cycle assessment and benchmarking of FCH systems, while addressing their consistent integration into robust FCH-LCSA guidelines. These guidelines aim to be globally accepted as the reference document for LCSA of FCH systems and set the basis for future standardisation, going beyond the update of past initiatives such as the FC-HyGuide project and the IEA Hydrogen Task 36 through their reformulation to deal with underdeveloped topics such as material criticality and prospective assessment. For the sake of practicality and extended use of the guidelines, key SH2E outcomes also include user-friendly, open-access software tools and illustrative case studies, also being a source of publicly available data reviewed by a third party. Thus, the project was aligned with international initiatives towards global sustainability, including the Innovation Challenge on Renewable and Clean Hydrogen, by providing robust frameworks and tools that help decision-makers check the sustainability of FCH solutions.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Trends and needs in environmental (LCA), economic (LCC) and social (SLCA) life cycle assessment of FCH (fuel cells and hydrogen) systems were identified, and FCH-specific LCA, LCC and SLCA guidelines were delivered. A SH2E material criticality indicator was implemented in the FCH-LCA guidelines. Moreover, a software solution for FCH-LCA according to the SH2E guidelines was completed, and extended to the economic and social dimensions. The environmental, economic and social life cycle assessment guidelines for FCH systems were consolidated into a harmonised life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) framework by identifying and addressing commonalities and (acceptable/unacceptable) discrepancies, also considering feedback from the application of the guidelines as well as from a third-party review. This led to the SH2E Guidebook for LCSA of FCH systems.
Prospective LCA, LCC and SLCA studies of hydrogen production through solid oxide electrolysis coupled with a concentrated solar power plant were carried out according to the corresponding SH2E guidelines, including prospective sustainability benchmarking against conventional hydrogen from steam methane reforming. Similarly, LCA, LCC and SLCA studies were also carried out for hydrogen use in a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell electric car, including benchmarking against a battery electric car.


The research activity led to a significant number of scientific articles (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.122247 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2024.02.015 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107614 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.04.035 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143129 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143330) and scientific contributions to conferences such as the World Hydrogen Technologies Convention (WHTC 2021), the World Fuel Cell Conference (WFCC 2021), the International Conference on Life Cycle Management (LCM 2021 and 2023), the Hydrogen Power Theoretical & Engineering Solutions International Symposium (HYPOTHESIS XVI), the World Hydrogen Energy Conference (WHEC 2022 and 2024), the International Conference and Expo on Recycling and Waste Management, the B2B Forum – European Hydrogen Week 2022, the Helmholtz Energy Conference 2023, the European Hydrogen Energy Conference (EHEC 2024), openLCA.conf 2024, etc.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

SH2E progress beyond the state-of-the-art in LCA of FCH systems refers to the update and further adaptation of FC-HyGuide and IEA Hydrogen Task 36 guidelines for the environmental assessment of FCH systems, including their reformulation to include the currently underdeveloped topics of prospectivity and material criticality. In LCC of FCH systems, SH2E advancements involve the identification of the most appropriate economic life-cycle indicators and the corresponding evaluation methods, including specific provisions for prospective economic assessment of emerging FCH systems. In SLCA of FCH systems, advancements refer to the definition of a social assessment approach for FCH systems, with emphasis on the definition and evaluation of supply chains under a relevant set of social life-cycle indicators.

Moreover, according to the state-of-the-art in LCSA of FCH systems, SH2E progress involves not only the improvements in each separate component (LCA, LCC, and SLCA) but also their consistent integration into a harmonised framework and the development of computational tools that promote the use and reporting of LCSA for the sustainability assessment and benchmarking of FCH systems.

SH2E relevance lies in the principles of both “doing things right” (i.e. checking before acting) and “doing the right thing” (i.e. promoting sustainable FCH solutions, with such a qualification being increasingly relevant to international initiatives such as the European Green Deal and the EU Taxonomy). SH2E advancements hold the potential to avoid decisions made without any analytical supporting information as well as biased decisions taking into account only economic aspects or reducing sustainability to the carbon footprint indicator (disregarding additional environmental indicators as well as social ones).

SH2E link to initiatives on life-cycle approaches