Published by Todd Bush on March 12, 2024
BOSTON, March 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a new report prepared with support from the Environmental Defense Fund, economists from The Brattle Group evaluate the factors driving investment in hydrogen (H2) as a low-carbon alternative fuel or energy carrier. Specifically, they explore how the production and delivery costs of H2 are changing under the influence of recent strong tax incentives, US Department of Energy (DOE) support for hydrogen research and hub development, rapid commercialization, and projected technology improvements.
>> In Other News: Terra Announces Full Concrete Trials of OPUS ZERO™, A Real Zero CO2 Alternative to Portland Cement
The report, Emerging Economics of Hydrogen Production and Delivery, compares the cost of hydrogen under a few different modes of production, as well as potential differences based on year and region. These comparisons include:
The report finds that public programs, especially the recent federal Clean Hydrogen Production tax credits (45V), can offset around half of green H2 production costs, making it competitive with conventional H2 (known as "grey hydrogen," which is produced from natural gas without carbon capture). The projected decline in electrolysis costs could achieve comparable reductions, potentially reaching or beating the DOE's "hydrogen shot" goal of $1/kg by 2030 in some markets. Blue hydrogen costs are also projected to reach cost parity with grey hydrogen by 2030. These costs will likely be competitive with natural gas as a fuel, especially if it has a carbon emissions penalty.
A nationally interconnected market for clean H2 may be slow in coming, according to the report; instead, H2 will likely be produced in close geographic proximity to end users, with costs and technologies used varying by location. Finally, the authors note that there is a clear ladder of priority for use across industries, with hard-to-electrify industrial applications and some heavy-duty transportation at the top of the list. However, meeting the DOE's projected national demand by 2050 of 50 million metric tons per year of H2 could require up to 700 GW of renewable power.
Emerging Economics of Hydrogen Production is authored by Principal Frank Graves, Senior Associate Josh Figueroa, Energy Associate Ragini Sreenath, Senior Energy Analyst Jadon Grove, Senior Research Analyst Lorenzo Sala, and outside expert Stephen Thumb. The full report is available at https://www.brattle.com/insights-events/publications/emerging-economics-of-hydrogen-delivery-and-production/.
The Brattle Group answers complex economic, finance, and regulatory questions for corporations, law firms, and governments around the world. We are distinguished by the clarity of our insights and the credibility of our experts, which include leading international academics and industry specialists. Brattle has 500 professionals across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. For more information, please visit brattle.com.
SOURCE The Brattle Group
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.
Inside This Issue ⚡ Energy Department Removes Barriers for American Energy Producers, Unleashing Investment in Domestic Hydrogen 🛳️ MASH Makes Powers First Vessel Trial With Biofuel From a Carbon-...
Inside This Issue 🛢️ Conestoga Energy Completes Drilling of Class VI Carbon Capture & Sequestration Well, Advances Toward EPA Application 🏗️ How Microsoft and Sublime Systems Are Reinventing C...
Inside This Issue 💸 EDF Slams Repeal of 45V Hydrogen Credit, Citing $32Bn in Higher Household Energy Costs and Job Losses 🤝 Johnson Matthey to Sell Blue Hydrogen Business to Honeywell as Part of £...
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office today removed barriers for the American hydrogen industry by updating its 45VH2-GREET modeling tool. The latest vers...
NETL Patents New Process for Extracting Critical Resources from Coal Fly Ash at High Quantities
NETL researchers developed a new process for extracting economically and strategically vital rare earth elements (REE) and critical minerals (CM) from America’s coal fly ash at high quantities and ...
World’s First Plant That Captures CO2 From Air to Make Building Materials Opens
Aggregates produced using CO2 captured by Mission Zero Technologies ‘Direct Air Capture’ technology (Image courtesy of Mission Zero Technologies) A demonstration project that uses direct air captu...
Plug Power’s Georgia Hydrogen Plant Sets U.S. Production Record Using Plug Electrolyzer Technology
April 2025 Marks Industry-Leading Milestone with 300 Metric Tons of Liquid Hydrogen Produced WOODBINE, Ga., -- Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), a global leader in comprehensive hydrogen solutions, ...
Follow the money flow of climate, technology, and energy investments to uncover new opportunities and jobs.