Date of Award

August 2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Chemistry

First Advisor

Wayne W. Seames

Second Advisor

Bethany B. Klemetsrud

Abstract

This thesis develops technical and economic analyses for a community-scale system that utilizes excess renewable energy to generate green hydrogen and oxygen which can be used by Tribal Nations to improve their energy infrastructure. Many Tribal Nations, such as the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, are still energy insecure due to aging infrastructure, geographic remoteness and reliance on outside utilities. The use of renewable energy is growing, but the intermittency of solar and wind generation without long-duration storage is an issue. One possible solution is to use electrolysis to convert excess renewable electricity into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be either stored and converted back to electricity by fuel cells during outages/peak demand or sold as high purity gas products.

In this study, a 500-kW alkaline electrolyzer system was selected and used as the basis for a complete system, which was then modeled in ASPEN Plus™ to evaluate hydrogen and oxygen production, purification, compression, storage and power generation via fuel cells. The study considered two use cases: (A) backup power generation using the exothermic reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, and (B) generation and commercial sale of high purity hydrogen and oxygen gas products. Results show that the system is technically feasible for either scenario, with production of ~ 72,000 kg/yr of hydrogen, ~ 582,000 kg/yr of oxygen, and, when recombined, ~ 1.03 GWh/yr of electricity.

Economic evaluation using an AACE Class 4 cost estimation and discounted cashflow analysis showed unsubsidized deployment is financially challenging. Scenario A has an NPV@10% of negative $18 million and levelized cost of energy of $1.87/kWh. Scenario B is less unprofitable with an NPV@10% of negative $10 million and levelized cost of hydrogen of $21/kg. Sensitivity analyses indicate that capital cost, operating cost and hydrogen market price are the dominant economic parameters. While not currently economically feasible given today’s market conditions, the system may provide substantial non-market value including improved energy resilience, emergency preparedness, workforce development, and Tribal ownership of critical infrastructure.

This work lays the foundation of assessing the technical and economic feasibility of green hydrogen infrastructure for backup power solutions for indigenous communities.

Download

Share

COinS