| Work Detail |
According to a study by ISE Fraunhofer, in these regions it costs between 96 and 108 euros ($102.83 and $115.69) to produce 1 MWh of green hydrogen. The advantageous combination of wind and solar energy and high system utilization as well as comparatively low capital costs are the main competitiveness criteria.
Green hydrogen and its derivatives - ammonia, methanol and synthetic paraffin, also called Power-to-X (PtX, or “Electricity by X”) - store renewable energy from the sun and wind to transport it efficiently between distant regions. At the same time, many industries that cannot use electricity directly as an energy source will depend on these alternatives to replace the use of fossil gas and oil in the future.
Commissioned by the H2Global Foundation, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE examined 39 regions in 12 countries shortlisted by H2Global to determine where the production of these products, together with their transportation to Germany, would be most profitable between now and 2030. Result : Brazil, Colombia and Australia offer especially good conditions for the import of green ammonia, methanol and paraffin. Imports of green hydrogen gas could come from southern Europe or northern Africa, as long as gas pipelines for its transport are available in time.
“Sustainably produced hydrogen and its derivatives will be indispensable in certain sectors of the energy system,” says Professor Hans-Martin Henning, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Systems ISE. “According to our calculations, imports are a necessary and economically viable complement to local hydrogen production.”
Given that the gigawatt-scale Power-to-X projects, which are those considered in the study, require long planning and construction phases, the implementation of the first large-scale projects in the producing countries should already be underway. to meet this anticipated demand. According to Fraunhofer ISE calculations, Germany will need at least one terawatt-hour of domestically produced and imported Power-to-X by 2030.
“According to our calculations for the 12 countries shortlisted by H2Global, the costs of local production of green hydrogen gas are not nearly as low as in Brazil, Australia or northern Colombia. In these countries, producing enough green hydrogen to provide one megawatt hour of energy costs between 96 euros and 108 euros ($102.83 and $115.69), which is equivalent to between 3.20 and 3.60 euros ($3.43 and $3.86) per kilogram,” says Dr. Hank, lead author of the study. “If long-distance transport by ship is considered, in the form of liquid hydrogen or ammonia, under the best possible conditions, the supply costs for Germany amount to 171 euros ($183.17) per megawatt hour depending on the energy content of both products.”
According to the study, the high combined total load hours of the solar and wind energy systems of these countries together - and, therefore, the high utilization of Power-to-X processes, which currently remain capital intensive - They are a key advantage of these countries. A long distance between production and use is not an exclusion criterion for ammonia, methanol or paraffin, due to their high energy density and already established transport logistics.
“Overall, we found that the combination of good wind and solar conditions has a very positive effect on hydrogen production costs, often more so than when a region only has excellent conditions for wind or solar generation,” explains Christoph Kost, responsible for renewable energy analyzes in the Fraunhofer ISE study. “Ultimately, the cheapest possible generation costs for renewable electricity are the deciding factor.”
Alternative to gas
An alternative that the study also explores is the import of gaseous hydrogen by gas pipeline to Germany, with the possibility of subsequently processing it in situ to obtain its derived products. “The regions of southern Europe and northern Africa are the best options in this scenario,” explains Dr. Christopher Hank. “As long as the first sections of the gas pipeline infrastructure are built by 2030, large quantities of sustainably produced hydrogen can be transported to Europe, and therefore also to Germany, very economically.”
In the analysis, the regions of Algeria, Tunisia and Spain have the lowest hydrogen gas supply costs, 137 euros ($146.75) per megawatt hour, including pipeline transportation of the natural gas converted to hydrogen. This corresponds to 4.56 euros ($4.88) per kilogram of green hydrogen. |
