A Review of Hydrogen Production and Supply Chain Modeling and Optmization

This paper reviews recent optimization models for hydrogen supply chains and production. Optimization is a central component of systematic methodologies to support hydrogen expansion. Hydrogen production is expected to evolve in the coming years to help replace fossil fuels; these high expectations arise from the potential to produce low-carbon hydrogen via electrolysis using electricity generated by renewable sources. However, hydrogen is currently mainly used in refinery and industrial operations; therefore, physical infrastructures for transmission, distribution, integration with other energy systems, and efficient hydrogen production processes are lacking. Given the potential of hydrogen, the greenfield state of infrastructures, and the variability of renewable sources, systematic methodologies are needed to reach competitive hydrogen prices, and design hydrogen supply chains. Future research topics are identified: 1) improved hydrogen demand projections, 2) integrated sector modeling, 3) improving temporal and spatial resolutions, 4) accounting for climate change, 5) new methods to address sophisticated models.