Policy & Socio-Economics

The objective of this paper is to derive for the first time decarbonization roadmaps for the ten nations of ASEAN. This study first presents a regional view of ASEAN’s fossil and renewable energy usage and energy-related CO2 emission. Results show that renewable energies have been losing ground to fossil energies in the last two decades and fossil fuels will likely continue to be an important part of ASEAN’s energy mix for the next few decades. Therefore decarbonizing efforts should focus not only on increasing the share of renewable energies in electricity generation but also on technologies to reduce CO2 emission from fossil power and industrial plants. This study next performs a technology mapping exercise for all ten ASEAN countries to determine decarbonization technologies that have high impact and high readiness for individual countries. Besides installing more sustainable renewable energies common themes coming from these roadmaps include switching from coal to gas for power generation using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to decarbonize fossil and industrial plants replacing internal combustion vehicles by electric vehicles and for countries that have coal and natural gas resources upgrading them to blue hydrogen by chemical processes and using CCS to mitigate the emitted CO2. Blue hydrogen can be used to decarbonize hard-to-decarbonize industries. Policy implications of these roadmaps include imposing a credible carbon tax establishing a national hydrogen strategy intergovernmental coordination to establish regional CCS corridors funding research and development to improve carbon capture efficiency on a plant level and resolving sustainability issues of hydropower and bioenergy in ASEAN.

The policy module of the FCHO presents an overview of EU and national policies across various hydrogen and fuel cell related sectors. It provides a snapshot of the current state of hydrogen legislation and policy. Scope: While FCHO covers 38 entities around the world due to the completeness of the data at the moment of writing this report covers 29 entities. The report reflects data collected January 2019 – December 2019. Key Findings: Hydrogen policies are relatively commonplace among European countries but with large differences between member states. EU hydrogen leaders do not lag behind global outliers such as South Korea or Japan.

Hydrogen applications range from an energy carrier to a feedstock producing bulk and other chemicals and as an essential reactant in various industrial applications. However the sustainability of hydrogen production storage and transport are neither unquestionable nor equal. Hydrogen is produced from natural gas biogas aluminium acid gas biomass electrolytic water splitting and others; a total of eleven sources were investigated in this work. The environmental impact of hydrogen production storage and transport is evaluated in terms of greenhouse gas and energy footprints acidification eutrophication human toxicity potential and eco-cost. Different electricity mixes and energy footprint accounting approaches supported by sensitivity analysis are conducted for a comprehensive overview. H2 produced from acid gas is identified as the production route with the highest eco-benefit (− 41188 €/t H2) while the biomass gasification method incurred the highest eco-cost (11259 €/t H2). The water electrolysis method shows a net positive energy footprint (60.32 GJ/t H2) suggesting that more energy is used than produced. Considering the operating footprint of storage and transportation gaseous hydrogen transported via a pipeline is a better alternative from an environmental point of view and with a lower energy footprint (38 %–85%) than the other options. Storage and transport (without construction) could have accounted for around 35.5% of the total GHG footprint of a hydrogen value chain (production storage transportation and losses) if liquefied and transported via road transport instead of a pipeline. The identified results propose which technologies are less burdensome to the environment.

Cutting-edge world-leading energy network innovation is vital to ensuring that our economy can continue to access the energy it needs to safeguard jobs and to maintain our international competitiveness as the world goes through decarbonisation. In this report we build on the 2020 Gas Goes Green Zero Carbon Commitment to set out the scale of investment that Britain’s gas networks wish to deliver to hydrogen innovation projects and preparing the gas networks. This work will be focused over the next ten years creating highly-skilled high-tech green jobs through investment and ensuring that the impact of that innovation is felt in communities across the UK.

In this paper a systematic review of academic literature and policy papers since 2008 is undertaken with an aim of identifying the prevalent energy systems models and tools in the UK. A list of all referenced models is presented and the literature is analysed with regards sectoral coverage and technological inclusion as well as mathematical structure of models. The paper compares available models using an appropriate classification schema the introduction of which is aimed at making the model landscape more accessible and perspicuous thereby enhancing the diversity of models within use. The distinct classification presented in this paper comprises three sections which specify the model purpose and structure technological detail and mathematical approach. The schema is not designed to be comprehensive but rather to be a broad classification with pertinent level of information required to differentiate between models. As an example the UK model landscape is considered and 22 models are classified in three tables as per the proposed schema.

Algeria richly-endowed with renewable resources is well-positioned to become a vital green hydrogen provider to Europe. Aiming to aid policymakers stakeholders and energy sector participants this study embodies the first effort in literature to investigate the viability and cost-effectiveness of implementing green hydrogen production projects destined for exports to Europe via existing pipelines. A land suitability analysis utilizing multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) coupled with geographical information system (GIS) identified that over 43.55% of Algeria is highly-suitable for hydrogen production. Five optimal locations were investigated utilizing Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Electric Renewables (HOMER) with solar-hydrogen proving the most cost-effective option. Wind-based production offering higher output volumes reaching 968 kg/h requires turbine cost reductions of 17.50% (Ain Salah) to 54.50% (Djanet) to achieve a competitive levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of $3.85/kg with PV systems. A techno-economic sensitivity analysis was conducted identifying Djanet as the most promising location for a 100 MW solar-hydrogen plant with a competitive LCOH ranging from $1.96/kg to $4.85/kg.

Electrical energy storage (EES) such as lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries can reduce curtailment of renewables maximizing renewable utilization by storing surplus electricity. Several techno-economic analyses have been performed on EES but few have investigated the financial performance. This paper presents a state-of-the-art financial model obtaining novel and significative financial and economics results when applied to Li-ion EES. This work is a significant step forward since traditional analysis on EES are based on oversimplified and unrealistic economic models. A discounted cash flow model for the Li-ion EES is introduced and applied to examine the financial performance of three EES operating scenarios. Real-life solar irradiance load and retail electricity price data from Kenya are used to develop a set of case studies. The EES is coupled with photovoltaics and an anaerobic digestion biogas power plant. The results show the impact of capital cost: the Li-ion project is unprofitable in Kenya with a capital cost of 1500 $/kWh but is profitable at 200 $/kWh. The study shows that the EES will generate a higher profit if it is cycled more frequently (hence a higher lifetime electricity output) although the lifetime is reduced due to degradation.

There is growing interest in using hydrogen (H2) as a long-duration energy storage resource in a future electric grid dominated by variable renewable energy (VRE) generation. Modeling H2 use exclusively for grid-scale energy storage often referred to as ‘‘power-to-gas-to-power (P2G2P)’’ overlooks the cost-sharing and CO2 emission benefits from using the deployed H2 assets to decarbonize other end-use sectors where direct electrification is challenging. Here we develop a generalized framework for co-optimizing infrastructure investments across the electricity and H2 supply chains accounting for the spatio-temporal variations in energy demand and supply. We apply this sector-coupling framework to the U.S. Northeast under a range of technology cost and carbon price scenarios and find greater value of power-to-H2 (P2G) vs. P2G2P routes. Specifically P2G provides grid flexibility to support VRE integration without the round-trip efficiency penalty and additional cost incurred by P2G2P routes. This form of sector coupling leads to: (a) VRE generation increase by 13–56% and (b) total system cost (and levelized costs of energy) reduction by 7–16% under deep decarbonization scenarios. Both effects increase as H2 demand for other end-uses increases more than doubling for a 97% decarbonization scenario as H2 demand quadruples. We also find that the grid flexibility enabled by sector coupling makes deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) for power generation less cost-effective than its use for low-carbon H2 production. These findings highlight the importance of using an integrated energy system framework with multiple energy vectors in planning cost-effective energy system decarbonization

With the move to a hydrogen-based primary steel production envisioned for the near future in Europe existing regional industrial clusters loose major assets. Such a restructuring of industries may result in a new geographical distribution of the steel industry and also to another quality of vertical integration at sites. Both implications could turn out as drivers or barriers to invest in new technologies and are thus important in respect to vertical integration of sites and to regional policy. This paper describes an approach to model production stock invest for the steel industries in North-Western Europe. Current spatial structures are reproduced with capacity technical and energy efficiency data on the level of single facilities like blast furnaces. With the model developed both investments in specific technologies and at specific production sites can be modelled. The model is used to simulate different possible future scenarios. The case with a clear move to hydrogen-based production is compared to a reference scenario without technological shift. The scenarios show that existing trends like movement of production to the coast may be accelerated by the new technology but that sites in the hinterland can also adapt to a hydrogen economy. Possible effects of business cycles or a circular economy on regional value chains are explored with a Monte-Carlo analysis.

Hydrogen has seen unprecedented development in the year 2020. From innovative niche technology it is fast becoming a systemic element in the European Union’s (EU) efforts to transition to a climate-neutral society in 2050. It will become a crucial energy vector and the other leg of the energy transition – alongside renewable electricity – by replacing coal oil and gas across different segments of the economy. The rapid development of hydrogen is important for meeting the EU’s climate objectives and preserving and enhancing the EU’s industrial and economic competitiveness securing jobs and value creation in this high-tech sector.

Europe is currently leading in hydrogen technology and European companies and knowledge institutions can be instrumental in advancing technological developments and industrial scale-up. It is imperative that Europe maintains this leadership position and seizes the current momentum for hydrogen technologies. The EU is well placed to become the birthplace of a global hydrogen economy denominated in Euro currency.

It is time that hydrogen moves from an afterthought to a central pillar of the energy system. The “Fit for 55 Package” presents a unique opportunity to begin putting into place a concrete and fit for purpose framework for the development of a clean hydrogen economy. In this paper you will find Hydrogen Europe’s recommendations on how hydrogen can:

• Unleash the potential of renewables.
• Bring “efficiency” to the energy “system” of the future.
• Enable a carbon-neutral transport system.

Hydrogen mobility is one option for reducing local emissions avoiding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and moving away from a mainly oil-based transport system towards a diversification of energy sources. As hydrogen production can be based on a broad variety of technologies already existing or under development a comprehensive assessment of the different supply chains is necessary regarding not only costs but also diverse environmental impacts. Therefore in this paper a broad variety of hydrogen production technologies using different energy sources renewable and fossil are exemplarily assessed with the help of a Life Cycle Assessment and a cost assessment for Germany. As environmental impacts along with the impact category Climate change five more advanced impact categories are assessed. The results show that from an environmental point of view PEM and alkaline electrolysis are characterized by the lowest results in five out of six impact categories. Supply chains using fossil fuels in contrast have the lowest supply costs; this is true e.g. for steam methane reforming. Solar powered hydrogen production shows low impacts during hydrogen production but high impacts for transport and distribution to Germany. There is no single supply chain that is the most promising for every aspect assessed here. Either costs have to be lowered further or supply chains with selected environmental impacts have to be modified.

Growth in the hydrogen and fuel cell industries will lead to vast new employment opportunities and these will be created in a wide variety of industries skills tasks and earnings. Many of these jobs do not currently exist and do not have occupational titles defined in official classifications. In addition many of these jobs require different skills and education than current jobs and training requirements must be assessed so that this rapidly growing part of the economy has a sufficient supply of trained and qualified workers. We discuss the current hydrogen economy and technologies. We then identify by occupational titles the new jobs that will be created in the expanding hydrogen/fuel cell economy estimate the average US salary for each job identify the minimum educational attainment required to gain entry into that occupation and specify the recommended university degree for the advanced educational requirements. We provide recommendations for further research.

Although energy-intensive industries are often seen as ‘hard-to-decarbonise’ net-zero megaprojects for industrial clusters promise to improve the technical and economic feasibility of hydrogen fuel switching and carbon capture and storage (CCS). Mobilising insights from the megaproject literature this paper analyses the dynamics of an ambitious first-of-kind net-zero megaproject in the Humber industrial cluster in the United Kingdom which includes CCS and hydrogen infrastructure systems industrial fuel switching CO2 capture green and blue hydrogen production and hydrogen storage. To analyse the dynamics of this emerging megaproject the article uses a socio-technical system lens to focus on developments in technology actors and institutions. Synthesising multiple megaproject literature insights the paper develops a comprehensive framework that addresses both aggregate (‘outside-in’) developments and the endogenous (‘inside-out’) experiences and activities regarding three specific challenges: technical system integration actor coordination and institutional alignment. Drawing on an original dataset involving expert interviews (N = 46) site visits (N = 7) and document analysis the ‘outside-in’ analysis finds that the Humber megaproject has progressed rapidly from outline visions to specific technical designs enacted by new coalitions and driven by strengthening policy targets and financial support schemes. The complementary ‘inside-out’ analysis however also finds 12 alignment challenges that can delay or derail materialisation of the plans. While policies are essential aggregate drivers institutional misalignments presently also prevent project-actors from finalising design and investment decisions. Our analysis also finds important tensions between the project's high-pace delivery focus (to meet government targets) and allowing sufficient time for pilot projects learning-by-doing and design iterations.

In electricity systems mainly supplied with variable renewable electricity (VRE) the variable generation must be balanced. Hydrogen as an energy carrier combined with storage has the ability to shift electricity generation in time and thereby support the electricity system. The aim of this work is to analyze the competitiveness of hydrogen-fueled gas turbines including both open and combined cycles with flexible fuel mixing of hydrogen and biomethane in zero-carbon emissions electricity systems. The work applies a techno-economic optimization model to future European electricity systems with high shares of VRE.<br/>The results show that the most competitive gas turbine option is a combined cycle configuration that is capable of handling up to 100% hydrogen fed with various mixtures of hydrogen and biomethane. The results also indicate that the endogenously calculated hydrogen cost rarely exceeds 5 €/kgH2 when used in gas turbines and that a hydrogen cost of 3–4 €/kgH2 is for most of the scenarios investigated competitive. Furthermore the results show that hydrogen gas turbines are more competitive in wind-based energy systems as compared to solar-based systems in that the fluctuations of the electricity generation in the former are fewer more irregular and of longer duration. Thus it is the characteristics of an energy system and not necessarily the cost of hydrogen that determine the competitiveness of hydrogen gas turbines.

A bottom-up cost analysis for delivering utility-scale PV-generated electricity as hydrogen through pipelines and as electricity through power is undertaken. Techno-economic generation and demand data for California are used to calculate the levelized cost of transmitting (LCOT) energy and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) prior to distribution. High-voltage levels of 230 kV and 500 kV and 24-inch and 36-inch pipelines for 100 to 700 miles of transmission are considered. At 100 miles of transmission the cost of transmission between each medium is comparable. At longer distances the pipeline scenarios become increasingly cheaper at low utilization levels. The all-electric pathways utilizing battery energy storage systems can meet 95% of the load for as low as 356 USD/MWh whereas when meeting 100% of load with the hydrogen gas turbine and fuel cell pathways the costs are 278 and 322 USD/MWh respectively.

This article presents the conceptual assumptions for the process of identifying and evaluating the formal & legal factors that impact the choice of a hydrogen buffer location to stabilize the operation of power distribution networks. The assumption for the research process was establishing a methodological framework for an in-depth analysis of legislative acts (the EU legislation and the national law) to enable identification of synthetic groups of formal & legal factors to be further analyzed using the DEMATEL method. As a result the cause-and-effect relations between the variables were examined and an in-depth analysis was carried out to investigate the level of impact of the formal & legal factors on the functioning and location of a hydrogen energy buffer.

A “combined world” of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will create a greener transportation sector faster and cheaper than one of the solutions alone. Hydrogen Council with analytical support from McKinsey and Company published a report that highlights the complementary roles of FCEVs and BEVs in a decarbonised transportation sector.

The analysis found that each solution has comparable systemic efficiencies and similar CO2 life cycle intensity. From the vehicle user perspective FCEVs and BEVs will provide the flexibility and convenience to meet their specific context of use and geographic location. Additionally the costs of two supporting infrastructure for FCEVs and BEVs is cheaper than one infrastructure network primarily due to the reduced peak loads and avoidance of costly upgrades on the electricity grid. The report’s messages were developed in dialogue with the Observatory Group which consisted of representatives of government agencies and academia as well as associations and companies active in sectors like regenerative electricity generation electricity grid equipment manufacturing electric vehicle charging fleet management.

The paper can be found on their website.

Political decarbonisation commitments and outcompeting renewable electricity costs are disrupting energy systems. This foresight study prepares stakeholders for this dynamic reactive change by examining visions that constitute a probable plausible and possible component of future energy systems. Visions were extrapolated through an expert review of energy technologies and Australian case studies. ‘Probable–Abundant’ envisages a high penetration of solar and wind with increased value of balancing services: batteries pumped hydro and transmission. This vision is exemplified by the South Australian grid where variable and distributed sources lead generation. ‘Plausible–Traded’ envisages power and power fuel exports given hydrogen and high-voltage direct-current transmission advances reflected by public and private sector plans to leverage rich natural resources for national and intercontinental exchanges. ‘Possible–Zero’ envisages the application of carbon removal and nuclear technologies in response to the escalating challenge of deep decarbonisation. The Australian critical minerals strategy signals adaptations of high-emission industries to shifting energy resource values. These visions contribute a flexible accessible framework for diverse stakeholders to discuss uncertain energy systems changes and consider issues from new perspectives. Appraisal of preferred futures allows stakeholders to recognise observed changes as positive or negative and may lead to new planning aspirations.

Authored by the Hydrogen Council in collaboration with McKinsey and Company Hydrogen Insights 2022 presents an updated perspective on hydrogen market development and actions required to unlock hydrogen at scale.

The pipeline of hydrogen projects is continuing to grow but actual deployment is lagging.

680 large-scale project proposals worth USD 240 billion have been put forward but only about 10% (USD 22 billion) have reached final investment decision (FID). While Europe leads in proposed investments (~30%) China is slightly ahead on actual deployment of electrolyzers (200 MW) while Japan and South Korea are leading in fuel cells (more than half of the world’s 11 GW manufacturing capacity).

The urgency to invest in mature hydrogen projects today is greater than ever.

For the world to be on track for net zero emissions by 2050 investments of some USD 700 billion in hydrogen are needed through 2030 – only 3% of this capital is committed today. Ambition and proposals by themselves do not translate into positive impact on climate change; investments and implementation on the ground is needed.

Joint action by the public and private sectors is urgently required to move from project proposals to FIDs.

Both governments and industry need to act to implement immediate actions for 2022 to 2023 – policymakers need to enable demand visibility roll out funding support and ensure international coordination; industry needs to increase supply chain capability and capacity advance projects towards final investment decision (FID) and develop infrastructure for cross-border trade.

The paper can be found on their website.

The topic investigated in this article is a comparison contrast and integration effort of European strategies for sustainable development with the evolving market initiatives that are beginning to fuel the fourth industrial revolution. Several regulatory initiatives from continental bodies come into effect to radically change access to finances for business development based on sustainability goals and an analysis of the legislation and trends becomes essential for an effective pivot tactic in the face of adversity as well as change management policies to pre-emptively adapt and perform. The general research question is “what the strategic tools are best employed to overcome the hurdles laid forth by the drastic changes legally required for a sustainable future?” The research methods include a quantitative analysis of norms regulations and legislation including strategic initiatives circulated in the European Union governmental bodies integrated with qualitative research of the literature. The study finds and draws synergies between national strategies that have recently been drafted or are currently evolving with sustainability-centric initiatives such as the hydrogen initiative the nuclear initiative the natural gas initiative the renewables initiative the synthetics and biomass initiative the ESG initiative the digital initiative. The findings are to contribute to the business administration field by providing an appropriate image of the organizational design model in the sustainability era and a strategy framework to build the optimum long-term vision founded on continental regulatory initiatives that have come into effect.

The report “Policy Toolbox for Low Carbon and Renewable Hydrogen” is based on an assessment of the performance of hydrogen policies in different stages of market maturity and segments of the value chain. 48 policies were shortlisted based on their economic efficiency and effectiveness and mapped to barriers across the value chain and over time. These policies were subsequently clustered into policy packages for three country archetypes: a self-sufficient hydrogen producer an importer and an exporter of hydrogen.

The paper can be found on their website.

Renewable energy is considered the one of the most promising solutions to meet sustainable development goals in terms of climate change mitigation. Today we face the problem of further scaling up renewable energy infrastructure which requires the creation of reliable energy storages environmentally friendly carriers like hydrogen and competitive international markets. These issues provoke the involvement of resource-based countries in the energy transition which is questionable in terms of economic efficiency compared to conventional hydrocarbon resources. To shed a light on the possible efficiency of green hydrogen production in such countries this study is aimed at: (1) comparing key Russian trends of green hydrogen development with global trends (2) presenting strategic scenarios for the Russian energy sector development (3) presenting a case study of Russian hydrogen energy project «Dyakov Ust-Srednekanskaya HPP» in Magadan region. We argue that without significant changes in strategic planning and without focus on sustainable solutions support the further development of Russian power industry will be halted in a conservative scenario with the limited presence of innovative solutions in renewable energy industries. Our case study showed that despite the closeness to Japan hydrogen market economic efficiency is on the edge of zero with payback period around 17 years. The decrease in project capacity below 543.6 MW will immediately lead to a negative NPV. The key reason for that is the low average market price of hydrogen ($14/kg) which is only a bit higher than its production cost ($12.5/kg) while transportation requires about $0.96/kg more. Despite the discouraging results it should be taken into account that such strategic projects are at the edge of energy development. We see them as an opportunity to lead transnational energy trade of green hydrogen which could be competitive in the medium term especially with state support.

Globally climate change fossil fuel depletion and greenhouse emissions are fundamental problems requiring massive effort from the international scientific community to be addressed and solved. Following the Clean Energy for all Europeans Package (CEP) guidelines the Italian Government has established challenging and tight objectives both on energy and climate matter to be targeted by 2030. Accordingly research activities on different topics are carried out in Italy looking at the installation of intermittent renewable energy systems (IRES) implementation of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) on existing power plants and hydrogen technology and infrastructure penetration for accomplishing the end-users demands. The optimal integration of the above-mentioned technologies is one of the most effective weapons to address these objectives. The paper investigates different energy scenarios for meeting the Italian National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) 2030 targets showing how the combined implementation of around +12 GW of IRES and +6 GW of electrolyzers compared to the national estimates simultaneously with the CCS of around 10 Mt of CO2 per year can reduce the CO2 emissions up to about 247 Mt/year. Thanks to the adoption of the well-established software platform EnergyPlan the integration of IRES plants CCS and hydrogen-based technologies have been explored and the most successful results for concurrently reducing the impact of industrial transport residential and energy sectors and mitigating the greenhouse emissions substantially relies on the diversifications. Results show both the technical and economic convenience of a 2030 energy scenario which implements properly hydrogen IRES and CCS penetration in the energy system meeting the NECP 2030 targets and maintaining both the over-generation of the power plants below 5 TWh and the initial capital expenditure to be sustained for this scenario to occur below +80% compared to the 2019 energy scenario.

The present paper dwells on the role of green hydrogen in the transition towards climateneutral economies and reviews the central challenges for its emancipation as an economically viable source of energy. The study shows that countries with a substantial share of renewables in the energy mix advanced natural gas pipeline infrastructure and an advanced level of technological and economic development have a comparative advantage for the wider utilization of hydrogen in their national energy systems. The central conclusion this review paper is that a green hydrogen rollout in the developed and oil-exporting developing and emerging countries is not a risk for the rest of the world in terms of the increasing technological disparities and conservation of underdevelopment and concomitant socio-economic problems of the Global South. The targets anchored in Paris Agreement but even more in the EU Green Deal and the European Hydrogen Strategy will necessitate a substantial rollout of RESs in developing countries and especially in the countries of the African Union because of the prioritization of the African continent within the energy cooperation frameworks of the EU Green Deal and the EU Hydrogen Strategy. Hence the green hydrogen rollout will bridge the energy transition between Europe and Africa on the one hand and climate and development targets on the other.

The transition towards low-carbon energy and power has been extensively studied by research institutions and scholars. However the investment demand during the transition process has received insufficient attention. To address this gap an energy investment estimation method is proposed in this paper which takes the unit construction costs and potential development of major technology in the energy and power sector as input. The proposed estimation method can comprehensively assess the investment demand for various energy sources in different years including coal oil natural gas biomass power and hydrogen energy. Specifically we applied this method to estimate the investment demand of China’s energy and power sector from 2020 to 2060 at five year intervals. The results indicate that China’s cumulative energy investment demand over this period is approximately 127 trillion CNY with the power sector accounting for the largest proportion at 92.35% or approximately 117 trillion CNY. The calculated cumulative investment demand is consistent with the findings of several influential research institutions providing validation for the proposed method.

While Afghanistan’s power sector is almost completely dependent on fossil fuels it still cannot meet the rising power demand of this country. Deploying a combination of renewable energy systems with hydrogen production as the excess energy storage mechanism could be a sustainable long-term approach for addressing some of the energy problems of Afghanistan. Since Badakhshan is known to have a higher average wind speed than any other Afghan province in this study a technical economic and carbon footprint assessment was performed to investigate the potential for wind power and hydrogen production in this province. Wind data of four stations in Badakhshan were used for technical assessment for three heights of 10 30 and 40 m using the Weibull probability distribution function. This technical assessment was expanded by estimating the energy pattern factor probability of wind speeds greater than 5 m/s wind power density annual power output and annual hydrogen output. This was followed by an economic assessment which involved computing the Leveled Cost Of Energy (LCOE) the Leveled Cost Of Hydrogen (LCOH) and the payback period and finally an carbon footprint assessment which involved estimating the consequent CO2 reduction in two scenarios. The assessments were performed for 22 turbines manufactured by reputable companies with capacities ranging from 600 kW to 2.3 MW. The results showed that the entire Badakhshan province and especially Qal’eh-ye Panjeh and Fayazabad have excellent potentials in terms of wind energy that can be harvested for wind power and hydrogen production. Also wind power generation in this province will be highly cost-effective as the produced electricity will cost about one-third of the price of electricity supplied by the government. For better evaluation the GIS maps of wind power and hydrogen outputs were prepared using the IDW method. These maps showed that the eastern and northeastern parts of Badakhshan province have higher wind power-hydrogen production potentials. The results of ranking the stations with SWARA-EDAS hybrid MCDM methods showed that Qal’eh-ye Panjeh station was the best location to produce hydrogen from wind energy.

In order to achieve the EU’s target of 55% carbon reduction by 2030 hydrogen will have to make a key contribution to the energy mix. With many applications in industrial heat mobility power and chemical refineries hydrogen can be used to decarbonise where electrification is not possible. Equinor is a broad energy company with 21000 employees developing oil gas wind and solar energy in more than 30 countries worldwide. Equinor have been at the forefront of promoting hydrogen projects in Europe and developing low-carbon hydrogen solutions. In this episode Johan Leuraers Chief Consultant - Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Equinor and John Williams Head of Hydrogen Expertise Cluster at AFRY Management Consulting join us to discuss the main barriers to the uptake of hydrogen and the next steps to kick-start the hydrogen economy.

The podcast can be found on their website.

This paper uses established and recently introduced methods from the applied mathematics and statistics literature to study trends in the end-use sector and the capacity of low-carbon hydrogen projects in recent and upcoming decades. First we examine distributions in plants over time for various end-use sectors and classify them according to metric discrepancy observing clear similarity across all industry sectors. Next we compare the distribution of usage sectors between different continents and examine the changes in sector distribution over time. Finally we judiciously apply several regression models to analyse the association between various predictors and the capacity of global hydrogen projects. Across our experiments we see a welcome exponential growth in the capacity of zero-carbon hydrogen plants and significant growth of new and planned hydrogen plants in the 2020’s across every sector.

As a clean low-carbon efficient and renewable energy source hydrogen has gradually become an important energy carrier to combat climate change and achieve sustainable development in the world. China is now facing the stress of realizing the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals where hydrogen will play a significant role. Against this backdrop to develop China's hydrogen strategy under the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals this paper explores the hydrogen resource endowment in China presents the concepts such as Hydrogen Ethics and the Hu's Hydrogen Line and discusses the status quo and existing advantages in hydrogen production storage transport and utilization in China. Six major obstacles and challenges that China's hydrogen energy industry is facing are pointed out i.e. cost problem inadequate hydrogen infrastructures low energy efficiency mismatching the development progress of renewable energy insufficient market demand shortcomings in technology and imperfect policy system. Finally five policy suggestions for the future development of China's hydrogen energy industry are proposed as follows: (1) make an action plan as a response to the national hydrogen development plan; (2) build an international and domestic double-cycle hydrogen economic system; (3) incorporate hydrogen into the establishment of a clean low-carbon safe and efficient energy system; (4) accelerate the technological innovation to form advanced hydrogen technologies; and (5) construct hydrogen-oriented industrial clusters/parks to expand the hydrogen utilization market. It is concluded that for meeting the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals China should leverage the dual advantages of hydrogen as an energy carrier and an industrial raw material allowing the hydrogen industry to play a synergistic role in ensuring the country's energy security promoting the socio-economic transformation and upgrading and protecting the ecological environment thereby providing a technical option and support for China to achieve the ultimate goal of carbon neutrality.

Solar thermal technology can provide the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East region with abundant clean electricity to mitigate the rising levels of carbon dioxide and satisfy future demand. Hydrogen can play a key role in the large-scale application of solar thermal technologies such as concentrated solar plants in the region by storing the surplus electricity and exporting it to needed countries for profit placing the Middle East and the United Arab Emirates as major future green hydrogen suppliers. However a hydrogen supply chain comparison between hydrogen from CSP and other renewable under the UAE’s technical and economic conditions for hydrogen export is yet to be fully considered. Therefore in this study we provide a techno-economic analysis for well-to-ship solar hydrogen supply chain that compares CSP and PV technologies with a solid oxide water electrolyzer for hydrogen production assuming four different hydrogen delivery pathways based on the location of electrolyzer and source of electricity assuming the SOEC can be coupled to the CSP plant when placed at the same site or provided with electric heaters when placed at PV plant site or port sites. The results show that the PV plant achieves a lower levelized cost of electricity than that of the CSP plant with 5.08 ¢/kWh and 8.6 ¢/kWh respectively. Hydrogen production results show that the scenario where SOEC is coupled to the CSP plant is the most competitive scenario as it achieves the payback period in the shortest period compared to the other scenarios and also provides higher revenues and a cheaper LCOH of 7.85 $/kgH2.

This work aims to investigate the time-resolved cost of electrolytic hydrogen in a future climate-neutral electricity system with high shares of variable renewable electricity generation in which hydrogen is used in the industry and transport sectors as well as for time-shifting electricity generation. The work applies a techno-economic optimization model which incorporates both exogenous (industry and transport) and endogenous (time-shifting of electricity generation) hydrogen demands to elucidate the parameters that affect the cost of hydrogen. The results highlight that several parameters influence the cost of hydrogen. The strongest influential parameter is the cost of electricity. Also important are cost-optimal dimensioning of the electrolyzer and hydrogen storage capacities as these capacities during certain periods limit hydrogen production thereby setting the marginal cost of hydrogen. Another decisive factor is the nature of the hydrogen demand whereby flexibility in the hydrogen demand can reduce the cost of supplying hydrogen given that the demand can be shifted in time. In addition the modeling shows that time-shifting electricity generation via hydrogen production with subsequent reconversion back to electricity plays an important in the climate-neutral electricity system investigated decreasing the average electricity cost by 2%–16%. Furthermore as expected the results show that the cost of hydrogen from an off-grid island-mode-operated industry is more expensive than the cost of hydrogen from all scenarios with a fully interconnected electricity system.

Green hydrogen allows coupling renewable electricity to hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as long-distance transport and carbon-intensive industries in order to achieve net zero emissions. Evaluating the cost and value of power-to-gas is a major challenge owing to the spatial distribution and temporal variability of renewable electricity CO2 and energy demand. Here we propose a method based on geographic information system (GIS) and techno-economic modeling to: (i) compare the levelized cost and levelized value of power-to-gas across locations; (ii) identify potential hotspots for their future implementation in Switzerland; and (iii) set cost improvement targets as well as smart deployment strategies. Our method accounts for the spatial and temporal (both hourly and seasonal) availability of renewable electricity and CO2 sources as well as the presence of gas infrastructure heating networks oxygen and gas demand centers. We find that only green hydrogen plants connected directly to run-of-river hydropower plants are currently profitable in Switzerland (with NPV per CAPEX ranging between 2.3-5.6). However considering technological progress by 2050 a few green hydrogen plants deployed in the demand centers and powered by rooftop PV electricity will also become economically attractive. Moreover a few synthetic methane plants connected to run-of-river hydropower plants currently show slight profitability (NPV per CAPEX reaching values up to 1.3) and in 2050 (NPV per CAPEX up to 3.1) whereas those connected to rooftop PV will remain uneconomical even in 2050. Based on our findings we devise a long-term roadmap for policy makers and project developers to plan future green hydrogen projects. The proposed methodology which is applied to Switzerland can be extended to other countries.

This paper evaluates the economic viability of a combined wind-based green-hydrogen facility from an investor’s viewpoint. The paper introduces a theoretical model and demonstrates it by example. The valuation model assumes that both the spot price of electricity and wind capacity factor evolve stochastically over time; these state variables can in principle be correlated. Besides it explicitly considers the possibility to use curtailed wind energy for producing hydrogen. The model derives the investment project’s net present value (NPV) as a function of hydrogen price and conversion capacity. Thus the NPV is computed for a given price and a range of capacities. The one that leads to the maximum NPV is the ‘optimal’ capacity (for the given price). Next the authors estimate the parameters underlying the two stochastic processes from Spanish hourly data. These numerical estimates allow simulate hourly paths of both variables over the facility’s expected useful lifetime (30 years). According to the results green hydrogen production starts becoming economically viable above 3 €/kg. Besides it takes a hydrogen price of 4.7 €/kg to reach an optimal conversion capacity half the capacity of the wind park. The authors develop sensitivity analyses with respect to wind capacity factor curtailment rate and discount rate.

As the world looks to implement the Energy Transition repurposing existing fossil fuel infrastructure to produce or distribute “clean” energy will be critical. The most promising is using natural gas pipelines for moving hydrogen. This is the cheapest and fastest method of transport and reducing the cost of transporting hydrogen is a key step in making it economically viable. However while there are technical challenges the greater challenge is in the legal arena. This paper seeks to outline the numerous legal — treaty statutory and contractual — and regulatory obstacles to repurposing natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transport. Gas pipelines exist in a complex microclimate of international public and private law and domestic law and contracts. Ownership is often layered and tangled; financing doubly so; and myriad state interests compound the private interests including national security concerns energy supply imperatives and geopolitical balance. State aid — investment subsidies and tax breaks — may encumber the project with additional legal obligations. And the contracts that control the development of a pipeline project may inject further legal complexity such as dispute mediation procedures and fora and applicable law. This paper seeks to map all the likely areas of future conflict or difficulty so that work on developing the requisite legal regime and remedies to permit use of natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transport can begin now. For policy and lawmakers as well as the private sector evaluating these known unknowns is a good starting point for reconsidering legislation regulation contracts and project risk in preparation for the future probability of hydrogen pipelines.

Hydrogen technologies are promising candidates of new energy technologies for electric power load smoothing. However regardless of long-term public investment hydrogen economy has not been realized. In Japan the National Research and Development Institute of New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) a public research-funding agency has invested more than 200 billion yen in the technical development of hydrogen-related technologies. However hydrogen technologies such as fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) have not been disseminated yet. Continuous and strategic research and development (R&D) are needed but there is a lack of expertise in this field. In this study the transition of the budgetary allocations by NEDO were analyzed by classifying NEDO projects along the hydrogen supply chain and research stage. We found a different R&D focus in different periods. From 2004 to 2007 empirical research on fuel cells increased with the majority of research focusing on standardization. From 2008 to 2011 investment in basic research of fuel cells increased again the research for verification of fuel cells continued and no allocation for research on hydrogen production was confirmed. Thereafter the investment trend did not change until around 2013 when practical application of household fuel cells (ENE-FARM) started selling in 2009 in terms of hydrogen supply chain. Hydrogen economy requires a different hydrogen supply infrastructure that is an existing infrastructure of city gas for ENE-FARM and a dedicated infrastructure for FCVs (e.g. hydrogen stations). We discussed the possibility that structural inertia could prevent the transition to investing more in hydrogen infrastructure from hydrogen utilization technology. This work has significant implications for designing national research projects to realize hydrogen economy.

Decarbonising energy is fundamental in the transition towards a sustainable future. Our Future Energy Scenarios aim to stimulate debate to inform the decisions that will help move us towards achieving carbon reduction targets and ultimately shape the energy system of the future.

Accommodating renewables on the electricity grid may hinder development opportunities for offshore wind farms (OWFs) as they begin to experience significant curtailment or constraint. However there is potential to combine investment in OWFs with Power-to-Gas (PtG) converting electricity to hydrogen via electrolysis for an alternative/complementary revenue. Using historic wind speed and simulated system marginal costs data this work models the electricity generated and potential revenues of a 504 MW OWF. Three configurations are analysed; (1) all electricity is sold to the grid (2) all electricity is converted to hydrogen and sold and (3) a hybrid system where power is converted to hydrogen when curtailment occurs and/or when the system marginal cost is low with the effect of curtailment analysed in each scenario. These represent the status quo a potential future configuration and an innovative business model respectively. The willingness of an investor to build PtG are determined by changes to the net present value (NPV) of a project. Results suggest that configuration (1) is most profitable and that curtailment mitigation alone is not sufficient to secure investment in PtG. By acting as an artificial floor in the electricity price a hybrid configuration (3) is promising and increases NPV for all hydrogen values greater than €4.2/kgH2. Hybrid system attractiveness increases with curtailment only if the hydrogen value is significantly above the levelised cost of €3.77/kgH2. In order for an investor to choose to pursue configuration (2) the offshore wind farm would have to anticipate 8.5% curtailment and be able to receive €4.5/kgH2 or 25% curtailment and receive €4/kgH2. The capital costs and discount rates are the most sensitive parameters and ambitious combinations of technology improvements could produce a levelised cost of €3/kgH2.

Dihydrogen (H2) commonly named ‘hydrogen’ is increasingly recognised as a clean and reliable energy vector for decarbonisation and defossilisation by various sectors. The global hydrogen demand is projected to increase from 70 million tonnes in 2019 to 120 million tonnes by 2024. Hydrogen development should also meet the seventh goal of ‘affordable and clean energy’ of the United Nations. Here we review hydrogen production and life cycle analysis hydrogen geological storage and hydrogen utilisation. Hydrogen is produced by water electrolysis steam methane reforming methane pyrolysis and coal gasification. We compare the environmental impact of hydrogen production routes by life cycle analysis. Hydrogen is used in power systems transportation hydrocarbon and ammonia production and metallugical industries. Overall combining electrolysis-generated hydrogen with hydrogen storage in underground porous media such as geological reservoirs and salt caverns is well suited for shifting excess of-peak energy to meet dispatchable on-peak demand.

Hydrogen is an energy carrier in which hopes are placed for an easier achievement of climate neutrality. Together with electrification energy efficiency development and RES hydrogen is expected to enable the ambitious energy goals of the European Green Deal. Hence the aim of the article is to query the development of the hydrogen economy in the Visegrad Group countries (V4). The study considers six diagnostic features: sources of hydrogen production hydrogen legislation financial mechanisms objectives included in the hydrogen strategy environmental impact of H2 and costs of green hydrogen investments. The analysis also allowed to indicate the role that hydrogen will play in the energy transition process of the V4 countries. The analysis shows that the V4 countries have similar approaches to the development of the hydrogen market but the hydrogen strategies published by each of the Visegrad countries are not the same. Each document sets goals based on the hydrogen production to date and the specifics of the domestic energy and transport sectors as there are no solutions that are equally effective for all. Poland’s hydrogen strategy definitely stands out the strongest.

Our Future Energy Scenarios (FES) outline four different credible pathways for the future of energy over the next 30 years. Based on input from over 600 experts the report looks at the energy needed in Britain across electricity and gas - examining where it could come from how it needs to change and what this means for consumers society and the energy system itself.

This paper looks at the possible role of ‘green gas’ in the decarbonisation of heat in the United Kingdom.  The option is under active discussion at the moment because of the UK’s rigorous carbon reduction targets and the growing realisation that there are problems with the ‘default’ option of electrifying heat. Green gas appears to be technically and economically feasible.  However as the paper discusses there are major practical and policy obstacles which make it unlikely that the government will commit itself to developing ‘green gas’ in the foreseeable future.

Widely available and low-cost solar photovoltaics and wind power can enable production of renewable electricity-based hydrogen at many locations throughout the world. Hydrogen is expected to emerge as an important energy carrier constituting some of the final energy demand; however its most important role will be as feedstock for further processing to e-fuels e-chemicals and e-steel. Apart from meeting their own hydrogen demand countries may have opportunities to export hydrogen to countries with area limitations or higher production costs. This paper assesses the feasibility of e-hydrogen imports to Germany and Finland from two case regions with a high availability of low-cost renewable electricity Chile and Morocco in comparison to domestic supply. Special attention is paid to the transport infrastructure which has a crucial impact on the economic viability of imports via two routes shipping and pipelines. This study has found that despite lower e-hydrogen production costs in Morocco and Chile compared to Germany and Finland additional transportation costs make imports of e-hydrogen economically unattractive. In early 2020s imported fuel costs are 39–79% and 34–100% higher than e-hydrogen produced in Germany and Finland respectively. In 2050 imported e-hydrogen is projected to be 39–70% more expensive than locally produced e-hydrogen in Germany and 43–54% in the case of Finland. e-Hydrogen may become a fuel that is mostly produced domestically and may be feasible for imports only in specific locations. Local e-hydrogen production may also lower dependence on imports enhance energy security and add jobs.

The North Sea Offshore Grid concept has been envisioned as a promising alternative to: 1) ease the integration of offshore wind and onshore energy systems and 2) increase the cross-border capacity between the North Sea region countries at low cost. In this paper we explore the techno-economic benefits of the North Sea Offshore Grid using two case studies: a power-based offshore grid where only investments in power assets are allowed (i.e. offshore wind HVDC/HVAC interconnectors); and a power-and-hydrogen offshore grid where investments in offshore hydrogen assets are also permitted (i.e. offshore electrolysers new hydrogen pipelines and retrofitted natural gas pipelines). In this paper we present a novel methodology in which extensive offshore spatial data is analysed to define meaningful regions via data clustering. These regions are incorporated to the Integrated Energy System Analysis for the North Sea region (IESA-NS) model. In this optimization model the scenarios are run without any specific technology ban and under open optimization. The scenario results show that the deployment of an offshore grid provides relevant cost savings ranging from 1% to 4.1% of relative cost decrease (2.3 bn € to 8.7 bn €) in the power-based and ranging from 2.8% to 7% of relative cost decrease (6 bn € to 14.9 bn €) in the power-and-hydrogen based. In the most extreme scenario an offshore grid permits to integrate 283 GW of HVDC connected offshore wind and 196 GW of HVDC meshed interconnectors. Even in the most conservative scenario the offshore grid integrates 59 GW of HVDC connected offshore wind capacity and 92 GW of HVDC meshed interconnectors. When allowed the deployment of offshore electrolysis is considerable ranging from 61 GW to 96 GW with capacity factors of around 30%.

Burges Salmon’s energy lawyers are known for ground-breaking work in the energy power and utilities sector. They understand the opportunities the technologies and the challenges which the sector presents. Their reputation has been built upon first-of-a-kind projects and deals and an intimate knowledge of energy regulation. Burges Salmon specialists provide expert advice throughout the project/plant life cycle. Over the years this has in turn led to investors and funders requesting their services in the knowledge that they understand the key issues technologies face. They have a team of over 80 lawyers who focus on helping developers investors and funders achieve their aims in the sector. The team has won or been shortlisted for all the key industry awards in energy over the last decade.

The podcast can be found on their website

On this weeks episode the team are talking all things hydrogen in the Orkneys with Adele Lidderdale (Hydrogen Officer for Orkney Island Council) and Jon Clipsham (Hydrogen Manager EMEC). While the islands are best known for their exceptional wildlife whisky and cruise ships the Orkney islands have also emerged as a hub for the green hydrogen economy. Working alongside local government community groups research agencies and private sector partners the islands have deployed hydrogen solutions to heat a school power ferries in port move local council workers from A to B and in the future perhaps make Gin?! All this and more on the show.

The podcast can be found on their website

As the EU energy system transitions to low carbon the technology choices should consider a broader set of criteria. The use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) prevents burden shift across life cycle stages or impact categories while the use of Energy System Models (ESM) allows evaluating alternative policies capacity evolution and covering all the sectors. This study does an ex-post LCA analysis of results from JRC-EU-TIMES and estimates the environmental impact indicators across 18 categories in scenarios that achieve 80–95% CO₂ emission reduction by 2050. Results indicate that indirect CO₂ emissions can be as large as direct ones for an 80% CO₂ reduction target and up to three times as large for 95% CO₂ reduction. Impact across most categories decreases by 20–40% as the CO₂ emission target becomes stricter. However toxicity related impacts can become 35–100% higher. The integrated framework was also used to evaluate the Power-to-Methane (PtM) system to relate the electricity mix and various CO₂ sources to the PtM environmental impact. To be more attractive than natural gas the climate change impact of the electricity used for PtM should be 123–181 gCO₂eq/kWh when the CO₂ comes from air or biogenic sources and 4–62 gCO₂eq/kWh if the CO₂ is from fossil fuels. PtM can have an impact up to 10 times larger for impact categories other than climate change. A system without PtM results in ~4% higher climate change impact and 9% higher fossil depletion while having 5–15% lower impact for most of the other categories. This is based on a scenario where 9 parameters favor PtM deployment and establishes the upper bound of the environmental impact PtM can have. Further studies should work towards integrating LCA feedback into ESM and standardizing the methodology.

Deployment and investments in hydrogen have accelerated rapidly in response to government commitments to deep decarbonisation establishing hydrogen as a key component in the energy transition.

To help guide regulators decision-makers and investors the Hydrogen Council collaborated with McKinsey & Company to release the report ‘Hydrogen Insights 2021: A Perspective on Hydrogen Investment Deployment and Cost Competitiveness’. The report offers a comprehensive perspective on market deployment around the world investment momentum as well as implications on cost competitiveness of hydrogen solutions.

The document can be downloaded from their website

Alberta is preparing for a lower emission future. The Hydrogen Roadmap is a key part of that future and Alberta's Recovery Plan. The roadmap is our path to building a provincial hydrogen economy and accessing global markets. It contains several policy actions that will be introduced in the coming months and years and it provides support to the sector as technology and markets develop.<br/>Alberta is already the largest hydrogen producer in Canada. We have all the resources expertise and technology needed to quickly become a global supplier of clean low-cost hydrogen. With a worldwide market estimated to be worth over $2.5 trillion a year by 2050 hydrogen can be the next great energy export that fuels jobs investment and economic opportunity across our province.

Sustainability transportation is characterized by a positive externality on the environment health social security land use and social inclusion. The increasing interest in global warming has caused attention to be paid to the introduction of the hydrogen bus (H2B). When introducing new environmental technologies such as H2B it is often necessary to assess the environmental benefits related to this new technology. However such benefits are typically non-priced due to their public good nature. Therefore we have to address this problem using the contingent valuation (CV) method. This method has been developed within environmental economics as a means to economically assess environmental changes which are typically not traded in the market. So far several big cities have been analyzed to evaluate the perceived benefit related to H2B introduction but to the best of our knowledge no one has performed a CV analysis of a historical city where smog also damages historical buildings. This paper presents the results obtained using a multi-wave survey. We have investigated user preferences to elicit their willingness to pay for H2B introduction in Perugia taking into account all types of negative externalities due to the traffic pollution. The results confirm that residents in Perugia are willing to pay extra to support the introduction of H2B.

Green hydrogen is considered a highly promising vector for deep decarbonisation of energy systems and is forecast to represent 20% of global energy use by 2050. In order to secure access to this resource Japan Germany and South Korea have announced plans to import hydrogen; other major energy consumers are sure to follow. Ammonia a promising hydrogen derivative may enable this energy transport by densifying hydrogen at relatively low cost using well-understood technologies. This review seeks to describe a global green ammonia import/export market: it identifies benefits and limitations of ammonia relative to other hydrogen carriers the costs of ammonia production and transport and the constraints on both supply and demand. We find that green ammonia as an energy vector is likely to be critical to future energy systems but that gaps remain in the literature. In particular rigorous analysis of production and transport costs are rarely paired preventing realistic assessments of the delivered cost of energy or the selection of optimum import/export partners to minimise the delivered cost of ammonia. Filling these gaps in the literature is a prerequisite to the development of robust hydrogen and ammonia strategies and to enable the formation of global import and export markets of green fuel