The role of hydrogen-based energy carriers in the context of the decarbonization goals of the Paris Agreement

Abstract

 The hydrogen-based energy carriers, such as hydrogen, ammonia and synfuels, can play critical roles on removing energy related CO₂ emissions in the context of the Paris Agreement climate goals. Nevertheless, there are few existing studies which explored the effectiveness of hydrogen-based energy carriers taking their competitiveness with other low-carbon carriers, such as electricity and biofuels, into consideration. Here we developed the global energy system model which considered the energy technologies associated with transformation, transport and end use of hydrogen-based energy carriers. The results indicate that upscaling of hydrogen-based energy carriers are not always essential option by 2050 in the context of the Paris Agreement goal, however, it can play an important role to remove the residual emissions from the industry and transport sectors in the specific conditions. Particularly, the share of hydrogen-based energy carriers are increased to nearly 10% of total global final energy demand in the net-zero CO₂ emission scenarios and where carbon capture and storage (CCS) is unavailable. Since the results imply that electrification and biofuels are essential mitigation options for all scenarios, the importance of the holistic energy and climate policy design is stressed, that considers several mitigation options in energy supply and demand sectors as well as hydrogen.