Biogas-to-power system designed for carbon-negative performance with hydrogen turbine

In the rapidly evolving energy landscape, hydrogen has emerged as a promising next-generation energy carrier. However, studies encompassing the full value chain—from hydrogen production to power generation via gas turbines—remain limited. To address this gap, this study proposes two different pathways of an integrated hydrogen-to-power generation system based on oxy-fuel combustion, using biogas as the primary feedstock. These pathways differ in their treatment of biogas: (a) a tri-reforming-based hydrogen-to-power system utilizing raw biogas, and (b) a pyrolysis-based system employing upgraded biogas. Both configurations exhibit favorable techno-economic performance due to by-product utilization, high thermal efficiency, and carbon-negative operation. The levelized cost of electricity is estimated at $0.1669/kWh for the tri-reforming-based system and $0.1637/kWh for the pyrolysis-based system figures that fall within the lower range of reported levelized cost of electricity values for conventional hydrogen-based power generation ($0.131–0.595/kWh). Importantly, both systems achieve net-negative carbon emissions through the capture and storage of biogenic CO₂, even though natural gas is used as an auxiliary energy source. The tri-reforming-based system yields –0.3546 kg CO₂eq./kWh, while the pyrolysis-based system yields –0.1132 kg CO₂eq./kWh. Furthermore, incorporating a carbon tax of $50/tCO₂ results in a reduction in the levelized cost of electricity by 17.47% for the tri-reforming-based system and 12.82% for the pyrolysis-based system, underscoring the economic competitiveness of carbon-negative, biogenic hydrogen-to-power systems. These findings highlight the environmental and economic potential of biogas-derived hydrogen as a viable alternative to fossil-based infrastructure, providing a valuable foundation for future research on hydrogen-powered energy systems.