Hydrogen economy driven by offshore wind in regional comprehensive economic partnership members

Abstract

Hydrogen is expected to be an essential part of the global energy trade. Herein, we explore the offshore wind-based hydrogen (OWH) in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members. The results show that the OWH production potential in the RCEP members can reach approximately 1200 megatons, which will be reduced to a tenth when facing the 2050 cost-competitive onshore renewable hydrogen from RCEP members. A co-development optimisation model of all the RCEP members shows that low-cost OWH in Australia, New Zealand, and China can be exported to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Republic of Korea, and Japan on a large scale. In 2050, compared with the non-trade scenario, the average levelized cost of used hydrogen (LCOH^U) in RCEP members will be reduced by 0.29 $ per kg, bringing an economic benefit of $33.3 billion. Two key parameters, i.e., onshore renewable hydrogen cost and forecasted hydrogen demands, are used to verify the stability of the import and export roles of RCEP members. Consequently, it is concluded that OWH can contribute to offshore wind exploitation and the hydrogen economy among RCEP members.