Green hydrogen is getting lots of buzz. But costs are a sticking
Hydrogen storage tanks in Spain in May 2022. Hydrogen has a diverse range of applications and can be deployed in a wide range of industries.
Angel Garcia | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The buzz around hydrogen has gotten increasingly loud in the past few years — many see it as an important tool in reducing the environmental footprint of heavy industry and helping economies hit net-zero goals.
The green hydrogen sector, which is centered on producing it using renewable sources of energy like wind and solar, has drawn particular interest and boasts some high-profile backers.
They include German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who in 2022 called it “one of the most important technologies for a climate-neutral world” and “the key to decarbonizing our economies.”
In the world of business, multinationals from Iberdrola to Siemens Energy are also looking to make plays in green hydrogen.
But while there’s a huge amount of excitement about the potential of hydrogen — the International Energy Agency describes it as a “versatile energy carrier” — there are also undoubted challenges.
For a start, the vast majority of hydrogen production is still based on fossil fuels, not renewables — a fact clearly at odds with net-zero goals.
And when it comes to green hydrogen specifically, production costs are a significant issue, and will need to be reduced in the years ahead.
Transporting hydrogen from production sites to users is another equally important factor to consider.
“Hydrogen is pretty expensive to move,” Murray Douglas, head of hydrogen research at Wood Mackenzie, told CNBC during an interview.
“It’s more difficult to move than natural gas … technically, engineering wise … it’s just harder,” he added.
Douglas is not alone in highlighting some of the hurdles in delivering hydrogen.
The U.S. Department of Energy, for instance, notes key challenges “include reducing cost, increasing energy efficiency, maintaining hydrogen purity, and minimizing hydrogen leakage.”
The DOE adds that more research is required to “analyze the trade-offs between the hydrogen production options and the hydrogen delivery options when considered together as a system.”
Location important
In relation to the logistics surrounding green hydrogen in particular, one area that will need attention is the location of production facilities.
Often, these are earmarked for areas where sources of renewable energy are abundant — such as Australia, North Africa and the Middle East — but many miles away from where the hydrogen will actually be used.
Wood Mackenzie’s Douglas referenced transportation options when reflecting on the investment horizon for the next 10 years.
“You can obviously pipe it, but you probably need a dedicated pipeline,” he said, noting that this would likely need to be a new build and close to end-users.
The only other realistic option in this investment horizon, he said, relates to exporting the hydrogen as ammonia.
“You produce the hydrogen, the…
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