Project Management Strategies to address Economic and Environmental Risks and Uncertainties of Green Hydrogen Production from Direct Air Capture

Abstract

Green hydrogen is an energy carrier that plays an important role in the energy transition. The production of green hydrogen is hindered by either the availability of renewable energy resources or water. Usually places with high renewable energy potential have limited availability of water as seen in arid or semi-arid regions. Nevertheless, green hydrogen needs to be produced from renewable energy and water. To solve the problem, we introduce the direct-air-capture power to gas (DAC-PtG) technology, which uses a carbon dioxide recovery method, direct-air-capture (DAC) coupled with a polymer-exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser to produce green hydrogen using renewable energy resource. DAC units are designed to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, they are not point capture systems and can be installed in places different from where the CO₂ is being emitted. The DAC unit co-adsorbs water in the process of capturing CO₂ from the atmosphere, which is then fed into the PEM electrolyser for hydrogen production. The study highlights CO₂ output, electrolyser cost, the weighted average cost of capital, and the efficiency of the electrolyser as economic risk factors. Drivers of environmental impacts are also identified as, source of energy used, type of adsorbent material used for the DAC unit, the DAC plant material used for construction (if recycled plant material is used for construction the environmental footprint of the DAC unit reduces), and the type of electrolyser used. This paper proposes a project management strategy to manage both environmental and economic risks and uncertainties through technology complementarity, electrolyser cost savings methods, green purchasing techniques, identifying a project location with a strong legal framework, and studying the relationship between CO₂ captured, water adsorbed and relative humidity. The findings of this study can be used as a stepping stone to further research especially for the environmental impacts of the DAC-PtG technology. Most importantly, this study can be used as a theoretical reference when setting up DAC-PtG projects.