European Gas Hub
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium Content
    • All
    • Coal Market
    • European Energy Policy
    • European Gas Pipeline Infastructure
    • European Gas Prices
    • European Gas Storage
    • European Gas Supply & Demand
    • LNG
    • Russia
    • Unconventional Resources
    • Hydrogen
    • European power generation
    • Other
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Industry Links
    • Industry Association
    • Research Institute / Think Tank
    • Regulatory Body
    • Government Body
    • Consultant
    • Gas Prices
  • Newsletter
  • Videos
  • Other Hubs
    • GLOBAL LNG HUB
    • GLOBAL MARITIME HUB
    • THE COAL HUB
  • Subscribe
  • My account
  • Login
SUBSCRIBE
  • Premium Content
    • All
    • Coal Market
    • European Energy Policy
    • European Gas Pipeline Infastructure
    • European Gas Prices
    • European Gas Storage
    • European Gas Supply & Demand
    • LNG
    • Russia
    • Unconventional Resources
    • Hydrogen
    • European power generation
    • Other
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Industry Links
    • Industry Association
    • Research Institute / Think Tank
    • Regulatory Body
    • Government Body
    • Consultant
    • Gas Prices
  • Newsletter
  • Videos
  • Other Hubs
    • GLOBAL LNG HUB
    • GLOBAL MARITIME HUB
    • THE COAL HUB
  • Subscribe
  • My account
  • Login
European Gas Hub
No Result
View All Result
Home Infrastructure

Rising up or still just hot air: the reality of developing a hydrogen economy

Editor by Editor
2 years ago
min read2 min
hydrogen economy
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin

2020 has spawned an abundance of talk, speculation and indeed policy statements on hydrogen. FOMO (fear of missing out) has taken over and governments, investors, utilities, technical and professional services providers alike have been busy looking for ways to plant their flag on this new territory.

RELATED POSTS

European gas storage spreads normalise

European gas storage spreads normalise

2 weeks ago
Gas storage market trends in 2021 and 2022 – key takeaways

Gas storage market trends in 2021 and 2022 – key takeaways

1 month ago
Northwest European LNG projects landscape – December 2022

Northwest European LNG projects landscape – December 2022

1 month ago

However, we have been here before – this is not the first time that hydrogen has been touted as the future of energy. In the wake of the first oil crisis in the 1970s western governments began looking at alternatives to oil. Hydrogen was seen as a perfect alternative produced from plentiful, safe and cheap nuclear energy.

However, following the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, and the world adjusting to higher oil prices, the grand plans for the hydrogen economy were quietly shelved. In the 2000s, we saw a resurgence of enthusiasm, particularly for hydrogen as a transport fuel, only to find that by the end of the decade, battery electric vehicles were rapidly winning the technology race and hopes for hydrogen faded.

Today the driver for renewed interest in hydrogen is not energy security but climate change mitigation. The technical solution of hydrogen has found a new problem to address, but so far the challenges to its commercialisation have not received sufficient attention.

Hydrogen has the clear advantage over fossil fuels of being carbon free. However, the impediments that faced its adoption in the past remain: naturally occurring elemental hydrogen is very scarce on Earth and so it must be manufactured; it has a low energy density compared with fossil fuels; there is very limited infrastructure to produce, transport and consume it; and it is currently extremely expensive to produce whether from natural gas or through electrolysis.

The costs of producing green hydrogen using electrolysis today in the US and Europe would be (at the lower end) between $4.00 and $4.50 / kg which is equivalent to $30/MMBtu, 10 times the current US natural gas price and 6 times the current European price. It would need a European ETS price of over €300/tonne – 10 times the prevailing price in 2020 – just to levelise the cost of hydrogen with natural gas today.

Estimated range of hydrogen production costs by technology

hydrogen economy

We may accept conventional wisdom that the costs of producing hydrogen will fall as technology develops and the industry matures, as seen elsewhere in the energy industry with the huge drop in the cost of some technologies used in renewable electricity generation.

That said, it is likely to be a long time before hydrogen can compete on a purely economic basis with fossil fuels, even allowing for the rise in carbon prices expected by many industry players. So some form of subsidy or government compulsion will be required to make hydrogen projects a reality.

Source: Gas Strategies

Follow on Twitter:

Tweets by "GasStrategies"
Tags: Gas Strategieshydrogenhydrogen production costs
Editor

Editor

Related Posts

European gas storage spreads normalise
Gas Prices

European gas storage spreads normalise

2 weeks ago
Gas storage market trends in 2021 and 2022 – key takeaways
Infrastructure

Gas storage market trends in 2021 and 2022 – key takeaways

1 month ago
Northwest European LNG projects landscape – December 2022
Gas Prices

Northwest European LNG projects landscape – December 2022

1 month ago
spot-gas-markets
Infrastructure

Europe’s exposure to spot gas markets set to grow drastically

3 months ago
European gas trading down by 25%
Gas Prices

European gas trading down by 25%

3 months ago
European-gas-prices
Infrastructure

European gas prices: how long will the October meltdown last?

3 months ago

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending Posts

gas-demand

Prospects for European industrial gas demand

3 weeks ago
gas-prices

International natural gas prices – Cedigaz

4 weeks ago
European gas prices drop to pre-war lows

European gas prices drop to pre-war lows

4 weeks ago
Load More

Recent Post

Global-gas-price

Global gas price correlation remained strong in 2022

5 days ago
European-gas-storage

The true value of European gas storage

2 weeks ago
European gas storage spreads normalise

European gas storage spreads normalise

2 weeks ago
Load More

European Gas Hub is an online platform for sharing analysis and information about European natural gas markets more info

Categories

  • European Gas Prices
  • Energy Policy
  • European Gas Infastructure
  • European Gas Storage
  • Coal Market
  • Supply & Demand
  • Gas Supply & Demand
  • LNG
  • Other
  • Unconventional Resources

Recent Posts

Global gas price correlation remained strong in 2022

The true value of European gas storage

European gas storage spreads normalise

Energise your Tuesday!

Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter with new European gas market reports, presentations & analysis. Every Tuesday.

By signing up, I agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

© 2020 EuropeanGasHub | All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Premium Content
    • All
    • Coal Market
    • European Energy Policy
    • European Gas Pipeline Infastructure
    • European Gas Prices
    • European Gas Storage
    • European Gas Supply & Demand
    • LNG
    • Russia
    • Unconventional Resources
    • Hydrogen
    • European power generation
    • Other
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Industry Links
    • Industry Association
    • Research Institute / Think Tank
    • Regulatory Body
    • Government Body
    • Consultant
    • Gas Prices
  • Newsletter
  • Videos
  • Other Hubs
    • GLOBAL LNG HUB
    • GLOBAL MARITIME HUB
    • THE COAL HUB
  • Subscribe
  • My account
  • Login

© 2020 EuropeanGasHub | All Rights Reserved

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT

Energise your Tuesday!

SIGN UP to receive our weekly newsletter with new European gas market reports, presentations & analysis. EVERY TUESDAY!

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?