Policy & Socio-Economics

Water electrolysis is a process which converts electricity into hydrogen and is seen as a key technology in enabling a net-zero compatible energy system. It will enable the scale-up of renewable electricity as a primary energy source for heating transport and industry. However displacing the role currently met by fossil fuels might require a price of hydrogen as low as 1 $/kg whereas renewable hydrogen produced using electrolysis is currently 10 $/kg. This article explores how mass manufacturing of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers can reduce the capital cost and thus make the production of renewable power to hydrogen gas (PtG) more economically viable. A bottom up direct manufacturing model was developed to determine how economies of scale can reduce the capital cost of electrolysis. The results demonstrated that (assuming an annual production rate of 5000 units of 200 kW PEM electrolysis systems) the capital cost of a PEM electrolysis system can reduce from 1990 $/kW to 590 $/kW based on current technology and then on to 431 $/kW and 300 $/kW based on the an installed capacity scale-up of ten- and one-hundred-fold respectively. A life-cycle costing analysis was then completed to determine the importance of the capital cost of an electrolysis system to the price of hydrogen. It was observed that based on current technology mass manufacturing has a large impact on the price of hydrogen reducing it from 6.40 $/kg (at 10 units units per year) to 4.16 $/kg (at 5000 units per year). Further analysis was undertaken to determine the cost at different installed capacities and found that the cost could reduce further to 2.63 $/kg and 1.37 $/kg based on technology scale-up by ten- and one hundred-fold respectively. Based on the 2030 (and beyond) baseline assumptions it is expected that hydrogen production from PEM electrolysis could be used as an industrial process feed stock provide power and heat to buildings and as a fuel for heavy good vehicles (HGVs). In the cases of retrofitted gas networks for residential or industrial heating solutions or for long distance transport it represents a more economically attractive and mass-scale compatible solution when compared to electrified heating or transport solutions.

Green hydrogen is becoming an increasingly important energy supply source worldwide. The great potential for the use of hydrogen as a sustainable energy source makes it an attractive energy carrier. In this paper we discuss the potential of producing green hydrogen in Jordan. Aqaba located in the south of Jordan was selected to study the potential for producing green hydrogen due to its proximity to a water source (i.e. the Red Sea). Two models were created for two electrolyzer types using MATLAB. The investigated electrolyzers were alkaline water (ALK) and polymeric electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers. The first model was used to compare the required capacity of the PV solar system using ALK and PEM from 2022 to 2025 depending on the learning curves for the development of these technologies. In addition this model was used to predict the total investment costs for the investigated electrolyzers. Then a techno-economic model was constructed to predict the feasibility of using this technology by comparing the use of a PV system and grid electricity as sources for the production of hydrogen. The net present value (NPV) and levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) were used as indicators for both models. The environmental effect according to the reduction of CO2 emissions was also taken into account. The annual production of hydrogen was 70.956 million kg. The rate of hydrogen production was 19.3 kg/s and 1783 kg/s for ALK and PEM electrolyzers respectively. The LCOH was 4.42 USD/kg and 3.13 USD/kg when applying electricity from the grid and generated by the PV system respectively. The payback period to cover the capital cost of the PV system was 11 years of the project life with a NPV of USD 441.95 million. Moreover CO2 emissions can be reduced by 3042 tons/year by using the PV as a generation source instead of fossil fuels to generate electricity. The annual savings with respect to the reduction of CO2 emissions was USD 120135.

Hydrogen (H2) is a low-carbon carrier. Hence measuring the impact of its supply chain is key to guaranteeing environmental benefits. This research proposes a classification of H2 in Colombia based on its carbon footprint and source. Such environmental characterization enables the design of regulatory instruments to incentivize the demand for low carbon-H2. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to determine the carbon footprint of H2 production technologies. Based on our LCA four classes of H2 were defined based on the emission threshold: (i) gray-H2 (21.8 - 17.0 kg CO2-eq/kg H2) (ii) low carbon-H2 (4.13 – 17.0 kg CO2-eq/kg H2) (iii) blue-H2 (<4.13 kg CO2-eq/kg H2) and (iv) green-H2 (<4.13 kg CO2-eq/kg H2). While low carbon-H2 could be employed to reduce 22% of the national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as defined in the National Determined Contribution (NDC) both blue and green-H2 could be employed for national and international trade since the standard emissions are aligned with international schemes such as CertifHy and the Chinese model. Besides gasification of biomass results in environmental savings indicating that biomass is a promising feedstock for international and local trade. Furthermore combinations of H2 production technologies such as renewable-based electrolysis natural gas steam reforming with CCS and ethanol conversion were evaluated to explore the production of a combination of green- and blue-H2 to meet the current and future demand of low carbon emission H2 in Colombia. However to comply with the proposed carbon emission threshold the installed capacities of solar and wind energies must be increase.

China is by far the world’s largest producer and consumer of hydrogen mostly from coal and other fossil fuels and the country has an ambitious hydrogen strategy. In this podcast we dive into the provincial strategies on hydrogen in China and specifically discuss a recent paper published by the Institute entitled China’s hydrogen development: A tale of three cities. The paper looks at the experiences and plans of the pilot hydrogen clusters located in Datong Shanxi province Chengdu in Sichuan province and Zhangjiakou in the northern part of Hebei province which surrounds Beijing. In this podcast we are speaking with the paper’s author Arabella Miller-Wang recently an Aramco fellow at the Institute and also a Research Assistant at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment of The University of Oxford as well as with Michal Meidan director of the China Energy Programme at OIES and with Martin Lambert who heads hydrogen research at the OIES.

The podcast can be found on their website.

Hydrogen is indispensable to decarbonise European industry and reach the EU’s 2030 climate targets and 2050 climate neutrality. It is one of the key technologies of Europe’s Net Zero Industry Act. By scaling up its production we will reduce the use of fossil fuels in European industries and serve the needs of hard-to-electrify sectors.

The Global Hydrogen Review is an annual publication by the International Energy Agency that tracks hydrogen production and demand worldwide as well as progress in critical areas such as infrastructure development trade policy regulation investments and innovation.

The report is an output of the Clean Energy Ministerial Hydrogen Initiative and is intended to inform energy sector stakeholders on the status and future prospects of hydrogen while also informing discussions at the Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting organised by Japan. Focusing on hydrogen’s potentially major role in meeting international energy and climate goals this year’s Review aims to help decision makers fine-tune strategies to attract investment and facilitate deployment of hydrogen technologies while also creating demand for hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels. It compares real-world developments with the stated ambitions of government and industry.

This year’s report includes a special focus on how the global energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has accelerated the momentum behind hydrogen and on the opportunities that it offers to simultaneously contribute to decarbonisation targets and enhance energy security.

The report can be found on their website.

This paper performs a technoeconomic comparison of two hybrid renewable energy supplies (HRES) for a specific location in Ghana and suggests the optimal solution in terms of cost energy generation capacity and emissions. (e two HRES considered in this paper were wind/hydrogen/fuel-cell and wind/battery storage respectively. (e necessity of this study was derived from the rise and expansion of hybrid renewable energy supply in a decentralised network. (e readiness to embrace these new technologies is apparently high but the best combination for a selected location that brings optimum benefits is not obvious and demands serious technical knowledge of their technical and economic models. In the methodology an analytical model of energy generation by the various RE sources was first established and data were collected about a rural-urban community in Doderkope Ghana to test the models. HOMER software was used to design the two hybrid systems based on the same load profiles and results were compared. It turns out that the HRES 1 (wind/hydrogen/fuel-cell) had the lowest net present cost (NPC) and levelized cost of electricity (COE) over the project life span of 25 years. (e energy reserve with the HRES 2 (wind/battery storage) was huge compared to that with the HRES 1 about 270% bigger. Furthermore with respect to the emissions the HRES 2 was environmentally friendlier than the HRES 1. Even though the battery storage seems to be more cost-effective than the hydrogen fuel cell technology the latter presents some merits regarding system capacity and emission that deserve greater attention as the world looks into more sustainable energy storage systems.

The Green Deal Industrial Plan aims to boost the competitiveness of Europe’s net-zero industry and to accelerate the transition to climate neutrality. The Plan is based on four pillars: (1) a predictable and simplified regulatory environment; (2) faster access to funding; (3) developing skills for net-zero industry; and (4) open trade for resilient supply chains.

On today’s episode of Everything About Hydrogen we are speaking with Dan Sadler Vice President for UK Low Carbon Solutions at Equinor. Equinor is of course a giant in the global energy sector and is taking a prominent role in the development of the international hydrogen economy with high-profile investments in a number of large-scale production projects in major markets such as the UK. Dan has spent the better part of a decade focused on how to leverage hydrogen’s potential as a fuel for the energy transition and we are excited to have him with us to discuss how Equinor is deploying hydrogen technologies and how he and Equinor expect hydrogen to play a role in a decarbonized energy future.

The podcast can be found on their website.

Over the last years the European Union has seen a rapid increase in installed capacity of generating units based on renewable energy sources (RES). The most significant increase in installed capacity was recorded in 2015 in wind farms and solar PV installations. One of the most serious is the volatile character of RES on a time basis. Therefore for a further expected increase in the use of RES and their effectiveness improvements investments are needed allowing for electricity to be stored. One of the electricity storage options is to use excess electricity in order to produce hydrogen by electrolysis of water. Although this process plays a marginal role in obtaining hydrogen on a worldwide basis due to high costs experience in recent years has shown that periodically low (negative) electricity prices developing on the power exchanges in the situation where there is surplus electricity available affect economic requirements for hydrogen production technologies. The paper shows activities undertaken by European countries (mainly Germany) aiming at making it possible for hydrogen to be stored in the natural gas grids. A particular attention is given to material resource issues and possible operational problems that might arise while blending natural gas with hydrogen into the grid. The experiences of selected European countries are of particular interest from the Polish perspective having regard to significant increase of RES in electricity generation during the last few years and adopted objectives for the growing importance of RES in the Poland’s energy balance.