Decarbonizing Copper Production by Power-to-Hydrogen: A Techno-Economic Analysis

Electrifying energy-intensive processes is currently intensively explored to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
through renewable electricity. Electrification is particularly challenging if fossil resources are not
only used for energy supply but also as feedstock. Copper production is such an energy-intensive process
consuming large quantities of fossil fuels both as reducing agent and as energy supply.
Here, we explore the techno-economic potential of Power-to-Hydrogen to decarbonize copper production.
To determine the minimal cost of an on-site retrofit with Power-to-Hydrogen technology, we formulate and
solve a mixed-integer linear program for the integrated system. Under current techno-economic parameters
for Germany, the resulting direct CO2 abatement cost is 201EUR/tCO2-eq for Power-to-Hydrogen
in copper production. On-site utilization of the electrolysis by-product oxygen has a substantial economic
benefit. While the abatement cost vastly exceeds current European emission certificate prices, a sensitivity
analysis shows that projected future developments in Power-to-Hydrogen technologies can greatly reduce
the direct CO2 abatement cost to 54EUR/tCO2-eq. An analysis of the total GHG emissions shows that
decarbonization through Power-to-Hydrogen reduces the global GHG emissions only if the emission factor
of the electricity supply lies below 160 gCO2-eq/kWhel.
The results suggest that decarbonization of copper production by Power-to-Hydrogen could become
economically and environmentally beneficial over the next decades due to cheaper and more efficient Powerto-
Hydrogen technology, rising GHG emission certificate prices, and further decarbonization of the electricity
supply.