The carbon footprint and cost of coal-based hydrogen production with and without carbon capture and storage technology in China

CCS (CO₂ capture and storage) technology provides technical support for low-carbon hydrogen production from coal. This study evaluates the carbon footprint and cost of coal-based hydrogen production with and without CCS in China by introducing provincial coal prices and electricity prices, as well as the life cycle greenhouse gas emission factor for consumed electricity. The results show that the carbon footprint of coal to hydrogen is reduced by 52.34%–74.59% to 4.92–10.90 CO₂eq/kg H₂ after installing CCS technology, which is close to that of solar electricity-based hydrogen production. In addition, CCS increases the cost by 44.59%–60.84% to 1.44–2.11 USD/kg H₂, but it does not deprive the cost advantage of hydrogen production from coal over renewable electricity-based hydrogen production. Therefore, China should promote the development of coal to hydrogen with CCS to meet the growing demand for hydrogen, at least before there is a breakthrough in hydrogen production from renewable electricity. West China may be the preferred option for future new coal to hydrogen plants, where the cost of coal to hydrogen with CCS is lower than that of other regions. Of course, other complex factors, such as the regional distribution of demand, must be considered to truly determine the site. In addition, coal-to-hydrogen plants in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Shaanxi Provinces, with low hydrogen production costs, strong carbon constraints and low CCS costs, should be the priority option for early CCS projects in China.