Overview of the sustainability of hydrogen resources, production and storage systems and its future

In this study, environmental and sustainability aspects of six sources of hydrogen production (biomass, geothermal, hydro, nuclear, solar and wind), four systems of hydrogen production (biological, electrical, photonic and thermal) and five sources of hydrogen storage (chemical hydrides, compressed gas, cryogenic liquids, metal hydrides and nanomaterials) are compared. Five sustainability criteria (economic, environmental, social and technical dimensions and reliability) and four environmental performance criteria (greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water dischaqrge quality and solid waste generation) of the selected options are ranged from 0 to 10 points, where 10 indicates the best and 0 weak indicates the lowest performance. From the sustainability point of view, solar and geothermal sources, with ratings of 7.4 and 4.6, have the highest and lowest performances, respectively. Electrical and photonic systems with 7.6 and 5.4 points have the highest and lowest performances in hydrogen production, respectively. Nanomaterials and cryogenic liquids with 8.4 and 3.4 points have the highest and lowest performances in hydrogen storage, respectively. Electrical hydrogen production based on solar energy according with the nanomaterial storage system are the most sustainable and best options from the environmental point of view.