Journal Club: Natural Gas, Electrolysis, Photocatalysis and Methane Pyrolysis based Hydrogen Production in the UK a comparative life cycle analysis of carbon emissions for future electricity and natural gas supply scenarios
The 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ Network of Excellence in Sustainability through Life Cycle ApproachesÌýwill host Louis Schilders , who will present on his PhD work on hydrogen production in the UK.Ìý
Abstract
Hydrogen can decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, but its life-cycle climate performance depends on the production technology and the energy and feedstock systems in which it operates. This study presents an attributional cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of seven hydrogen production routes under UK conditions: alkaline, proton exchange membrane and solid oxide electrolysis; methane pyrolysis; steam methane reforming (SMR); SMR with carbon capture and storage (SMR-CCS); and photocatalysis, treated prospectively because of its low technological readiness. SimaPro and ecoinvent were used to model 1 kg H₂. Scenarios varied UK electricity mixes for 2018, 2025 and 2035 and 100% wind; UK-market, North Sea, Norwegian and Russian gas supplies; production-stage methane leakage; and component recycling. Global warming potential was assessed alongside ReCiPe midpoint impacts, perturbation sensitivity analysis and 1,000-run Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis. Results show context dependence. With North Sea gas and wind electricity, SMR-CCS produced 1.52–1.55 kg CO₂-eq/kg H₂, compared with 1.70–1.87 for alkaline and proton exchange membrane electrolysis. Grid decarbonisation reduced 2035 electrolysis impacts to 3.40–4.32 kg CO₂-eq/kg H₂, around 20–28% of 2018 values. Gas provenance changed SMR-CCS results by up to 4.65 kg CO₂-eq/kg H₂, while higher methane leakage disproportionately increased its footprint. Monte Carlo results confirmed SMR-CCS as lowest in the baseline case but showed overlapping uncertainty ranges among electrolyser technologies. Technology selection should be conditional on electricity carbon intensity, gas provenance, methane leakage and capture performance, rather than technology labels alone. Photocatalysis remained infrastructure-dominated and recycling-sensitive, requiring separate interpretation as a prospective assessment.
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Louis Schilders is a 2ndÌýyear PhD student in Environmental Policy his interest is in hydrogen production technologies and life cycle analysis methods. His previous studies were at Durham University and LSE, and he has work experience at Longevity Partners (ESG) and the European Commission DG INTPA.Ìý
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