Distributed Waste-to-hydrogen Refuelling Station Implementation in South Africa: Techno-economic-socio-political and Environmental Indications

The combustion of liquid fossil fuels in the transportation sector, disposal and incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) are the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions in cities across the world. In an effort to decarbonize the transportation sector, the South African government is dedicated to advancing green trans portation through the hydrogen economy. Waste-to-hydrogen production can simultaneously achieve the goals of green transportation and waste management through widespread availability of hydrogen refuelling stations. This study assesses the techno-economic and environmental viability of waste-to-hydrogen refuelling stations in five selected South Africa cities. The refuelling stations’ capacity was determined based on assumption that a 5 kg hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicle is refuelled per day. The economic feasibility was premised on net present value (NPV), payback period (PBP), internal rate of return (IRR), and levelized cost of hydrogen refuelling (LCOHr). The environmental analysis was based on ecological efficiency and carbon emission reduction potential. Some of the main findings indicate that the City of Tshwane and City of Johannesburg have refuelling station capacities of 356 thousand kg/day H2 and 395 thousand kg/day H2, respectively. Economically, the project is viable with positive NPV between 1.099 and 8.0563 Billion $, LCOHr in the range of 3.99 $/kg - 5.63 $/kg, PBP of 9.03–13.74 years and IRR of 18.16 %–39.88 %. An ecological efficiency of 99.982 % was obtained which in dicates an environmentally friendly system with the potential to save 1439 million litres and 1563 million litres of diesel fuel and gasoline, respectively capable of preventing about 4 kilo-tons of CO2 into the atmosphere annually. Sensitivity analysis indicates that reforming efficiency, selling price of hydrogen and station capacity are crucial parameters with great influence on the economic profitability of waste-to-hydrogen refuelling station.