Co-production of hydrogen, electricity and CO2 from coal with commercially ready technology. Part B: Economic analysis

This two-part paper investigates performances, costs and prospects of using commercially ready technology to convert coal to H2 and electricity, with CO2 capture and storage. Part A focuses on plant configuration, performance, and CO2 emissions. Part B focuses on the cost of producing H2 and electricity, with and without reduced CO2 emissions. Our estimates show that the costs for ∼ 91% decarbonized energy (via quench gasification at 70 bar) are about 6.2¢/kWh for electricity and about $ 1.0/kg (8.5  $/GJ, LHV) for hydrogen; these are, respectively, 35% and 19% higher than the corresponding energy costs with CO2 venting. Referenced to these analogous CO2 venting plants, the costs of CO2 emissions avoided are ∼ 24 $/tonne for electricity and 11 $/tonne for H2.