Biomass-based chemical looping hydrogen production: Performance evaluation and economic viability

Chemical looping hydrogen generation (CLHG) from biomass is a promising technology for producing carbon-negative hydrogen. However, achieving autothermal operation without sacrificing hydrogen yield presents a significant thermodynamic challenge. This study proposes and evaluates a novel thermal management strategy that enables a self-sustaining process by balancing the system's heat load with its internal exothermic reactions. A comprehensive analysis was conducted using process simulation to assess the system's thermodynamic performance, identify key sources of inefficiency through exergy analysis, and determine its economic viability via a detailed techno-economic assessment. The results show that a 200 MWth CLHG plant can produce 2.06 t-H 2 /h with a hydrogen production efficiency and exergy efficiency of 34.46 % and 44.4 %, respectively. The exergy analysis identified the fuel reactor as the largest source of thermodynamic inefficiency, accounting for 66.4 % of the total exergy destruction. The techno-economic analysis yielded a base-case minimum selling price (MSP) of hydrogen of 2.63 USD/kg, a rate competitive with other carbon-capture-enabled hydrogen production methods. Sensitivity analysis confirmed that the MSP is most influenced by biomass price and discount rate. Crucially, the system's carbon-negative nature allows it to leverage carbon pricing schemes, which can significantly improve its economic performance. Under the EU's current carbon price, the MSP falls to 0.98 USD/kg-H 2 , and it can become negative in regions with higher carbon taxes, suggesting profitability from carbon credits alone. This study demonstrates that the proposed CLHG system is a technically robust and economically compelling pathway for clean hydrogen production, particularly in regulatory environments that incentivize carbon capture. • A novel thermal strategy for biomass-based chemical looping hydrogen (BCLH) system is proposed. • The 200 MWth system achieves autothermal operation with 2.06 t-H 2 /h and 34.46 % efficiency. • Exergy analysis identifies the fuel reactor as the main source of irreversibility (66.4 %). • The techno-economic analysis estimates hydrogen MSP at 2.63 USD/kg-H 2 without carbon credits. • Under EU carbon pricing, hydrogen cost drops to 0.98 USD/kg-H 2 , showing strong competitiveness.