European-made green hydrogen would be cheaper in EU than any imports by 2050, says European Commission report

Green hydrogen produced in Europe would be cheaper than any imported from outside the continent by 2050, according to a new European Commission (EC) report.

The 58-page paper, commissioned by the EC but written by the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI), examines two scenarios to decarbonise heavy industry by 2050, one called “H2+” in which hydrogen “is the major decarbonisation for feedstocks and process heat”, and the other, “Elec+”, where direct electrification plays a greater role in decarbonising process heat.

In both scenarios, the demand for hydrogen is high, amounting to 3,000TWh in Elec+ and 3,400TWh in H2+.

“In the cost-optimal energy system, the entire demand for hydrogen is covered by domestic production in Europe, with a total of 810GW and 915GW of electrolysis capacity installed in the Elec+ and H2+ scenarios, respectively,” the report says.

That figure — which amounts to about €2.17 ($2.38) per kg — is for gaseous hydrogen imported by pipeline from the Middle East or North Africa.

“With less optimal deployment of RES [renewable energy sources] and electrolysers, some hydrogen imports via pipeline could become part of the cost-optimal solution,” the report adds.

The study also looks at which European nations will be able to produce green hydrogen at the lowest cost, and concludes that “central European countries including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and others have minimal or no hydrogen production via electrolysis, despite their substantial demand for hydrogen”.

“Given the lower cost of hydrogen transportation compared to local production and the geographic proximity of these countries to others with more favourable hydrogen production conditions, they benefit more from importing hydrogen at a lower cost than producing it locally,” the report explains.

“As a result, France (130 GW), Spain (120 GW), the United Kingdom (70GW), and Norway (70GW) install significant electrolysis capacities, generating higher electricity demand for electrolysis than for conventional applications.”

“The model results show that, from a cost-optimal perspective, it is preferable to produce hydrogen in countries with high renewable potentials and deploy the necessary hydrogen transport infrastructure,” the report explains.

“It has to be emphasised that these are the results of a cost-optimisation approach that considers only a few restrictions and is by no means intended to be a blueprint for implementation.

“However, it does send the clear message that cooperation among countries is beneficial from the perspective of system costs.”