The costs are more than twice as high as for hydrogen from SMR or SMR + CCS processes. By 2030, however, the costs for hydrogen from electrolysis will drop rapidly, and thereafter the production costs will continue to fall. But still, in 2050, hydrogen from water electrolysis is projected to be more expensive than natural gas based hydrogen.
Comparing the cost of hydrogen production from various sources becomes critical in the pursuit of sustainable energy generation. It can quantify production costs by using powerful data analytics techniques. This entails meticulously collecting and preparing relevant cost data, identifying critical metrics, and employing statistical methodologies.
Producing 1 kg of hydrogen (Which has a specific energy of 143 MJ/kg or about 40 kWh/kg) requires 50–55 kWh of electricity. At an electricity cost of $0.06/kWh, as set out in the Department of Energy (DOE) hydrogen production targets for 2015, the hydrogen cost is $3/kg .
At an electricity cost of $0.06/kWh, as set out in the Department of Energy (DOE) hydrogen production targets for 2015, the hydrogen cost is $3/kg . The US DOE target price for hydrogen in 2020 is $2.30/kg, requiring an electricity cost of $0.037/kWh. .
Thus, the costs of hydrogen production are very low, but hydrogen in these studies is usually not produced at the location of demand. Therefore, transport costs would have to be added to these costs to determine the costs at the point of consumption, which is not in the scope of this study.
The cost of this grey hydrogen produced from natural gas reforming, coal gasification, and biomass gasification is less than the hydrogen produced from blue or green hydrogen production processes because the CO 2 capturing cost is not included in grey hydrogen production processes.