Economic Analysis on Hydrogen Pipeline Infrastructure Establishment Scenarios: Case Study of South Korea

South Korea has a plan to realize a hydrogen economy, and it is essential to establish a main hydrogen pipeline for hydrogen transport. This study develops a cost estimation model applicable to the construction of hydrogen pipelines and conducts an economic analysis to evaluate various scenarios for hydrogen pipeline construction. As a result, the cost of modifying an existing natural gas to a hydrogen pipeline is the lowest, however, there are issues with the safety of the modified hydrogen pipes from natural gas and the necessity of the existing natural gas pipelines. In the case of a short-distance hydrogen pipeline, the cost is about 1.8 times that of the existing natural gas pipeline modification, but it is considered a transitional scenario before the construction of the main hydrogen pipeline nationwide. Lastly, in the case of long-distance main hydrogen pipeline construction, it takes about 3.7 times as much cost as natural gas pipeline modification, however it has the advantage of being the ultimate hydrogen pipeline network. In this study, various hydrogen pipeline establishment scenarios ware compared. These results are expected to be utilized to establish plans for building hydrogen pipelines and to evaluate their economic feasibility.