A review of hydrogen applications: Technical and economic aspects

This paper aims to investigate the economic and technical aspects related to the use of hydrogen, particularly in fuel cells, focusing on both energy and environmental impacts as decisional factors. The study has examined the overall chain, from hydrogen production (mainly through electrolysis and gas reforming) to electric energy production, in order to point out energy efficiency and energy costs of the different phases of the chain. A range of fuel cells from few to thousands of kW of electric power has been considered.