Citation: Kindra, V.; Maksimov,I.;
Oparin, M.; Zlyvko, O.; Rogalev, A.
Hydrogen Technologies: A Critical
Review and Feasibility Study.
Energies 2023, 16, 5482. https://
doi.org/10.3390/en16145482
Academic Editor: Konstantinos
Christoforidis
Received: 30 June 2023
Revised: 14 July 2023
Accepted: 18 July 2023
Published: 19 July 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
energies
Review
Hydrogen Technologies: A Critical Review and Feasibility
Study
Vladimir Kindra * , Igor Maksimov , Maksim Oparin, Olga Zlyvko and Andrey Rogalev
Department of Innovative Technologies for High-Tech Industries, National Research University “Moscow Power
Engineering Institute”, Krasnokazarmennaya, 14, 111250 Moscow, Russia; maksimovia98@gmail.com (I.M.);
oparinmv@mpei.ru (M.O.); zlyvkoov@mpei.ru (O.Z.); rogalevan@mpei.ru (A.R.)
* Correspondence: kindra.vladimir@yandex.ru
Abstract: Nowadays, one of the most important areas in refining the energy sector in the developed
countries is the transition to environmentally friendly technologies, and hydrogen energy production
is the most promising of them. In this rapidly advancing area, significant progress in creating new
technologies for hydrogen fuel generation, transportation, storage, and consumption has been recently
observed, while a fast-growing number of research papers and implemented commercial projects
related to hydrogen makes it necessary to give their general review. In particular, the combination of
the latest achievements in this area is of particular interest with a view to analyzing the possibility of
creating hydrogen fuel supply chains. This paper presents an analytical review of existing methods of
hydrogen production, storage, and transportation, including their key economic and energy-related
characteristics, and proposes an approach to the creation, analysis, and optimization of hydrogen
supply chains. A mathematical model has been developed to determine the cost of hydrogen, taking
into account the supply chain, including production, transport and storage. Based on the results
of modeling in the given scenario conditions for 2030, 2040 and 2050, promising hydrogen supply
chains have been established. Under the various scenario conditions, hydrogen production by 2050
is most preferable by the method of steam conversion of methane with a cost of 8.85 USD/kg H
2
.
However, due to the environmental effect, electrolysis also remains a promising technology with a
cost of hydrogen produced of 17.84 USD/kg.
Keywords: hydrogen energy; supply chains; hydrogen storage; hydrogen production; hydro-
gen transportation
1. Introduction
Today, governments of many countries have updated their energy strategies [1,2] to
add new goals to reduce harmful emissions into the environment, primarily carbon dioxide
emissions. This trend, first and foremost, is motivated by the problem of global climate
change. According to [3], the energy sector makes the greatest contribution to greenhouse
gas emissions, accounting for more than 42% of the total emissions.
Hydrogen is one of the most common elements occurring in nature, and its potential as
a source of energy has long attracted the attention of scientists and engineers [4]. In recent
years, interest in hydrogen technologies has only intensified, and this is not surprising as
hydrogen can become a key factor in the transition to more environmentally friendly and
more efficient production and transport options, as well as in light of the need to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and shift to more environmentally friendly energy sources [5],
since hydrogen combustion does not produce carbon dioxide emissions, but only water.
In addition to environmental cleanliness, one of the main advantages of hydrogen is
its high energy density; this means that small amounts of hydrogen can be used to produce
a large energy bulk. In addition, hydrogen can be obtained from several sources, including
water, biomass, and various gases, such as methane [6], which makes it more affordable
and more cost-effective [7].
Energies 2023, 16, 5482. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16145482 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies