Abstract
Green hydrogen will be an essential part of the future 100% sustainable energy and industry system. Up to one-third of the required solar and wind electricity would eventually be used for water electrolysis to produce hydrogen, increasing the cumulative electrolyzer capacity to about 17 TWel by 2050. The key method applied in this research is a learning curve approach for the key technologies, i.e., solar photovoltaics (PV) and water electrolyzers, and levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH). Sensitivities for the hydrogen demand and various input parameters are considered. Electrolyzer capital expenditure (CAPEX) for a large utility-scale system is expected to decrease from the current 400 €/kWel to 240 €/kWel by 2030 and to 80 €/kWel by 2050. With the continuing solar PV cost decrease, this will lead to an LCOH decrease from the current 31–81 €/MWhH2,LHV (1.0–2.7 €/kgH2) to 20–54 €/MWhH2,LHV (0.7–1.8 €/kgH2) by 2030 and 10–27 €/MWhH2,LHV (0.3–0.9 €/kgH2) by 2050, depending on the location. The share of PV electricity cost in the LCOH will increase from the current 63% to 74% by 2050.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2100487 |
| Pages (from-to) | 2100487 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Solar RRL |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 5 Special Issue: EU PVSEC |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2022 |
Keywords
- Green hydrogen
- Levelized cost of electricity
- Levelized cost of hydrogen
- Solar photovoltaics
Project and Funding Information
- Project ID
- info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/825669/EU/Support to all stakeholders from the Photovoltaic sector and related sectors to contribute to the SET-Plan/ETIP PV - SEC II
- Funding Info
- This study was made under the framework of the European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP PV). Open access of this study has been supported by the ETIP PV Secretariat which works in the framework of the ETIP PV-SEC II project. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 825669. A.J.-W. works at the European Commission – Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy. The views expressed are purely those of the author and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission.
