Ghana

An increase in human activities and population growth have significantly increased the world’s energy demands. The major source of energy for the world today is from fossil fuels which are polluting and degrading the environment due to the emission of greenhouse gases. Hydrogen is an identified efficient energy carrier and can be obtained through renewable and non-renewable sources. An overview of renewable sources of hydrogen production which focuses on water splitting (electrolysis thermolysis and photolysis) and biomass (biological and thermochemical) mechanisms is presented in this study. The limitations associated with these mechanisms are discussed. The study also looks at some critical factors that hinders the scaling up of the hydrogen economy globally. Key among these factors are issues relating to the absence of a value chain for clean hydrogen storage and transportation of hydrogen high cost of production lack of international standards and risks in investment. The study ends with some future research recommendations for researchers to help enhance the technical efficiencies of some production mechanisms and policy direction to governments to reduce investment risks in the sector to scale the hydrogen economy up.

The consumption of hydrogen could increase by sixfold in 2050 compared to 2020 levels reaching about 530 Mt. Against this backdrop the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been a major research area in the field of energy engineering. Several reviews have been provided in the existing corpus of literature on PEMFC but questions related to their evolutionary nuances and research hotspots remain largely unanswered. To fill this gap the current review uses bibliometric analysis to analyze PEMFC articles indexed in the Scopus database that were published between 2000–2021. It has been revealed that the research field is growing at an annual average growth rate of 19.35% with publications from 2016 to 2012 alone making up 46% of the total articles available since 2000. As the two most energy-consuming economies in the world the contributions made towards the progress of PEMFC research have largely been from China and the US. From the research trend found in this investigation it is clear that the focus of the researchers in the field has largely been to improve the performance and efficiency of PEMFC and its components which is evident from dominating keywords or phrases such as ‘oxygen reduction reaction’ ‘electrocatalysis’ ‘proton exchange membrane’ ‘gas diffusion layer’ ‘water management’ ‘polybenzimidazole’ ‘durability’ and ‘bipolar plate’. We anticipate that the provision of the research themes that have emerged in the PEMFC field in the last two decades from the scientific mapping technique will guide existing and prospective researchers in the field going forward.

Transition to a sustainable energy supply is essential for addressing the challenges of climate change and achieving a low-carbon future. Green hydrogen produced from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems presents a promising solution in Ghana where energy demands are increasing rapidly. The levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) is considered a critical metric to evaluate hydrogen production techniques cost competitiveness and economic viability. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of LCOH from solar PV systems. The study considered a 5 MW green hydrogen production plant in Ghana’s capital Accra as a proposed system. The results indicate that the LCOH is about $9.49/kg which is comparable to other findings obtained within the SubSaharan Africa region. The study also forecasted that the LCOH for solar PV-based hydrogen produced will decrease to $5–6.5/kg by 2030 and $2–2.5/kg by 2050 or lower making it competitive with fossil fuel-based hydrogen. The findings of this study highlight the potential of green hydrogen as a sustainable energy solution and its role in driving the country’s net-zero emissions agenda in relation to its energy transition targets. The study’s outcomes are relevant to policymakers researchers investors and energy stakeholders in making informed decisions regarding deploying decentralised green hydrogen technologies in Ghana and similar contexts worldwide.

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) the capacity to generate energy faces significant hurdles. Despite efforts to integrate renewable energy sources and natural gas power plants into the energy portfolio the desired reduction in environmental impact and alleviation of energy poverty remain elusive. Hence exploring a spectrum of hybrid technologies encompassing storage and hydrogen-based solutions is imperative to optimize energy production while mitigating harmful emissions. To exemplify this necessity the 216 MW Kribi gas power plant in Cameroon is the case study. The primary aim is to investigate cutting-edge emissions and energy schemes within the SSA. This paper assessed the minimum complaint load technique and four power-to-fuel options from technical financial and environmental perspectives to assess the viability of a natural gas fuel system powered with hydrogen in a hybrid mode. The system generates hydrogen by using water electrolysis with photovoltaic electricity and gas power plant. This research also assesses process efficiency storage capacity annual costs carbon avoided costs and production prices for various fuels. Results showed that the LCOE from a photovoltaic solar plant is 0.19$/kWh with the Power-to-Hydrogen process (76.2% efficiency) being the most efficient followed by the ammonia and urea processes. The study gives a detailed examination of the hybrid hydrogen natural gas fuel system. According to the annual cost breakdown the primary costs are associated with the acquisition of electrical energy and electrolyser CAPEX and OPEX which account for 95% of total costs. Urea is the cheapest mass fuel. However it costs more in terms of energy. Hydrogen is the most cost-effective source of energy. In terms of energy storage and energy density by volume the methane resulted as the most suitable solution while the ammonia resulted as the best H2 storage medium in terms of kg of H2 per m3 of storage (108 kgH2/m3 ). By substituting the fuel system with 15% H2 the environmental effects are reduced by 1622 tons per year while carbon capture technology gathered 16664 tons of CO2 for methanation and urea operations yielding a total carbon averted cost of 21 $/ton.