Techno-economic assessment of green hydrogen production via an optimized solar and wind system

The economic feasibility of green hydrogen is integral to decarbonizing industries which are energy intensive and challenging to electrify via current power generation sectors. Cost-effective green hydrogen is dependent on the cost of both electrolyzer equipment and renewable energy production systems. In this study, the cost of producing green hydrogen was assessed worldwide. We produced a model using seven years of global solar and wind data to estimate the costs associated with off-grid, entirely emission-free, solar and wind hydrogen production facilities. These 6 costs were mapped across the world to visualize cost differences. We optimized for both the electrolyzer/renewable energy overfit and provide the option to combine solar and wind renewable systems, resulting in the lowest levelized cost of hydrogen at a given location. This procedure provides end users with the ability to toggle between wind, solar, and combined systems allowing for more realistic modeling and greater optionality. We incorporated country-level capital expenditure and operational expenditure data to more accurately model regional cost variations in global production costs. An analysis of these global costs resulted in a levelized cost of hydrogen range of $1 to > $5 per kilogram of hydrogen, in general agreement with public estimates.