21437 4 archive 353 disk0/00/02/14/37 2026-04-07 11:14:56 2026-04-07 11:14:56 2026-04-07 11:14:56 article show 1 Tao S. Ma T. 1804 Yu Y. 8710 pub ASA SYRR ECE S3 TISS Coal-fired power plant, Ammonia, Hydrogen, Renewable energy, Levelized cost of electricity Low-carbon retrofitting of coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) is essential for meeting China's carbon neutrality goals and reducing stranded asset risks, as the nation's energy structure remains heavily reliant on coal and the CFPP fleet is relatively young. Two promising retrofit options are coal-ammonia co-firing power plants (CAPPs) and CFPP integrated with hydrogen gas turbines (CFPP&H2GTs). This study shows that both options face cost challenges compared to conventional CFPP. However, once carbon prices surpass a certain level, they could become economically feasible. Notably, changes in carbon allowance rate do not affect this threshold. CFPP&H2GT may have advantages over CAPP in terms of levelized costs of electricity (LCOE), energy efficiency, and carbon reduction impact. However, CAPP appears to be a more practical near-term solution due to considerations of safety and technological maturity, especially since a 600 MW CFPP&H2GT would consume about 34 tons of hydrogen daily at a 10% co-firing ratio, which poses a high explosion risk. Retrofitting CFPPs with either option would support increased use of wind and solar energy in China. 2026-04 published Elsevier doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2026.154676 191 3662 none International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 228 e154676 1 TRUE 03603199 info:eu-repo/semantics/article