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Hydrogen is a prominent clean fuel option for combatting global warming and producing low-emission, ecologically friendly electricity. Consequently, the proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) hydrogen refueling station has undergone thorough economic and environmental analysis. This work intends to fill the gap by presenting the influence of various operating circumstances and design parameters on the economic and environmental aspects of PEMWE based on various behaviors and features (I–V curve) under various scenarios. Profitability analysis (PA) is performed in terms of the net present value (NPV), discounted payback period (DPBP), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and internal rate of return (IRR) from cumulative discounted cash flow diagrams (CFD). Also, sensitivity analysis (SA) is conducted to assess the impact of different economic factors, while simultaneously establishing CO 2 footprint guidelines for optimal operating and design conditions. The findings highlight that enhancing economic feasibility and reducing environmental concerns are simultaneously achievable by increasing cathode pressure, operating temperature, and decreasing membrane thickness. At membrane thicknesses over 100 μm, the project becomes unprofitable and inefficient at 1.85 V. PEMWE becomes more valuable and sustainable with a current density of 12,000 A/m2 or higher, but it releases more CO 2 emissions. Hence, utilizing excess renewable electricity in PEMWE addresses environmental concerns and enhances the overall ecological sustainability of hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Techno-economic evaluation of H 2 production by APR and SR of glycerol is performed. • Sensitivity analysis, profitability analysis, and risk analysis were accomplished. • TCOP for APR plant is 3.55 $/kgH 2 regarding the equipment purchased costs. • TCOP for SR plant is 3.65 $/kgH 2 regarding the equipment purchased costs. • TCOP mostly influenced by compressor cost, glycerol price, and discount rate. In this paper, a comparative techno-economic evaluation of hydrogen production by glycerol reforming in aqueous and gaseous phases are presented. To accomplish the techno-economic evaluation, firstly the process modeling and design are presented. Based on the equipment purchased costs, with 80 kg/h hydrogen production, the total cost of hydrogen production is estimated 3.65 and 3.55 $/kgH 2 for steam reforming and aqueous phase reforming plants, respectively. Regarding the installation factor in the equipment costs, the total cost of hydrogen production is estimated 7.49 and 7.45 $/kgH 2 for steam reforming and aqueous phase reforming plants, respectively. To investigate the impact of independent parameters and profitability of the proposed plants, sensitivity analysis, cumulative discounted cash flow diagram, net present value, and discounted payback period are introduced. Additionally, to quantify the uncertainties in proposed plants, Monte-Carlo simulation method with ±50% variation of the key influential parameters is applied. Lastly, it is shown that the aqueous phase reforming process is the optimum choice based on the techno-economic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]