Green hydrogen far pricier than projected

Prices for hydrogen produced with clean energy will remain high, Harvard researchers demonstrate in the journal Joule, but the fuel may remain the only way to decarbonize some sectors.

Green hydrogen is often touted as the solution for our toughest decarbonization problems: heavy industry, transportation, energy storage. The price will fall as production increases, goes the thinking, and this carbon-free fuel — made by splitting water molecules using renewable energy — will displace fossil fuels.

But a study published in Joule on Oct. 8 by Harvard University researchers shows that most estimates overlook the significant storage and distribution costs needed to deliver green hydrogen to different sectors — or how these costs vary across end-uses.

With straightforward calculations, the authors show that at current and projected delivered costs, green hydrogen is a prohibitively expensive strategy to reduce emissions, often exceeding the costs of directly removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

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