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Case study of hydrogen distribution via ammonia-to-hydrogen system in the UK Humber industrial cluster
Rothwell, Mathew Nnabuife, Somtochukwu Godfrey Oko, Eni Borhani, Tohid N. Ibhadon, Alex
Rothwell, Mathew
Nnabuife, Somtochukwu Godfrey
Oko, Eni
Borhani, Tohid N.
Ibhadon, Alex
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2025-01-13
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Abstract
The creation of a low-carbon hydrogen energy distribution system is essential to the decarbonisation of the UK Humber industrial cluster and other industrial clusters worldwide. In the UK, it is expected that a good proportion of hydrogen will be imported by 2050 in the form of ammonia derivative due to the material and physical limitation of transporting and storing hydrogen. The Immingham Green Energy Terminal (IGET) in the UK Humbers industrial cluster is envisioned to become a strategic landing point for imported low carbon ammonia which will be decomposed thereafter to obtain and supply hydrogen to the end-user heavy industries in the cluster. This study evaluates various ammonia-to-hydrogen network configurations through a comprehensive techno-economic analysis. A technical design was developed to calculate pipeline diameters, accurately accounting for the fluid properties of both hydrogen gas and liquid ammonia across proposed network designs. The results informed the optimisation of the pipeline configurations for each variation. The network simulation was implemented in Aspen Plus V14, validating the technical design outcomes. An economic assessment calculated the levelised costs of transmission (LCOT), ammonia cracking (LCOC), and hydrogen delivery (LCOH). LCOT values ranged from £0.024/kg NH<inf>3</inf> to £0.029/kg H<inf>2</inf>, while LCOC values ranged from £4.25–£4.46/kg H<inf>2</inf>. LCOH values of £3.53 and £3.49/kg H<inf>2</inf> were determined for centralized and decentralized ammonia-to-hydrogen networks, respectively. Comparison with existing literature revealed discrepancies due to differences in annual hydrogen throughput assumptions, limiting direct validation.
Citation
Rothwell, M., Nnabuife, S.G., Oko, E., Borhani, T.N., Ibhadon, A. (2026) Case study of hydrogen distribution via ammonia-to-hydrogen system in the UK Humber industrial cluster. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 201, 152739.
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Journal article
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en
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© 2025 The authors. Published by Elsevier. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.152739
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0360-3199
EISSN
1879-3487
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This research was supported by funding from the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC), UK.