Pathways to hydrogen production through variable renewable energy capacity: A study of Mexico and Jamaica

Decarbonization is key to achieving the international carbon dioxide reduction agenda for 2030 and 2050. Renewable energy, a resource towards achieving carbon neutrality, can also be used to facilitate hydrogen gas production and aid in meeting future energy demands. This review focuses on the background, actions, and geopolitical context of the potential green hydrogen production in Mexico and Jamaica. These nations, amongst many, seek to achieve energy security through energy diversification, and as such, the hydrogen production in each country was quantified and evaluated by outlining future perspectives, challenges, pathways, and potential markets. Variable renewable energy integration to drive and support green hydrogen gas production was explored, thus the potential energy capacities from these renewable resources were assessed using reconstructed maps from the Global Wind Atlas, Solar GIS, and integrated resource plans for each nation. The review identified high-potential areas such as Western Mexico (2,050 Megawatts) and Oaxaca (2,758 Megawatts) in Mexico and the Southern and Northern coastlines (4.0x10-3 ––4.8x10-3 megawatt-hour per megawatt-peak) and Manchester parish (some areas reaching a mean wind density of 2.0x10-3 Megawatts per square meter) in Jamaica, for solar and wind energy respectively. Therefore, renewable energy production processes such as photocatalysis, photoelectrochemical cells, and photovoltaic-photoelectrochemical systems were the technologies reviewed for green hydrogen production for application in the transportation, heating, industrial, and domestic sectors. Finally, the review discusses barriers such as costs, the lack of infrastructure, sales, end uses, legislation, and security for the transition to green hydrogen.