Blog post

We just published a paper on the cost competitiveness of blue and green hydrogen.

Blue H₂ (from fossil gas with CCS) and green H₂ (from renewable electricity via electrolysis) have the potential to be low-carbon alternatives to fossil gas and other fossil energy carriers, especially in hard-to-electrify sectors (steel, chemicals, aviation, maritime transport, seasonal energy storage, heavy-duty trucks, etc).

Blue H₂ could bridge the supply gap until green H₂ is sufficiently cheap and available, but that hinges on low residual emissions of blue H₂ (supply-chain of fossil gas, capture rate).

By looking at fuel-switching CO₂ prices, our new paper demonstrates that blue H₂ may only compete if it (i) has high capture rates (>90% of CO₂) and low CH₄ leakage (<1%) and (ii) fossil gas is cheap (~15€/MWh).

The paper can be accessed via this link: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1iMSj925JENmOe (Only publicly accessible until Feb 21st.)

My main contribution has been the quantitative techno-economic analysis, which is the source of many of the figures displayed in the article.

My team leader Falko Ueckerdt lead this work and gives a great summary in the thread attached below. Also many thanks to colleagues Rahul Anantharaman, Christian Bauer, Fiona Beck, Thomas Longden, and Simon Roussanaly for the collaboration.