Achieving affordable green hydrogen production plants

One of the best things to be surrounded by a very diverse team is how much you can learn from their very different skills and backgrounds. This is my case in the effort to gain more knowledge about the CAPEX of hydrogen projects. Because after you have found good OPEX conditions in terms of renewable electricity, the CAPEX question becomes key for the bankability of the project.

In the last whitepaper from Ramboll, my dear colleagues Ethan Doyle and Elizabeth Krasowski shed some light about the CAPEX costs in a hydrogen plant. From here, I would emphasize the following:

1️⃣ A hydrogen plant is much more complex than just having "an electrolyser". A very good understanding of all the components required to obtain hydrogen to your particular conditions and of all the actors involved in the construction of a hydrogen plant (manufacturers, EPC, EPCMs, investors) is key to obtain the lowest CAPEX.

2️⃣ The establishment of a good value chain for the construction of hydrogen plants is essential. This means to work in scale manufacturing of electrolyser stacks with the best of the technology in terms of materials (cheap and abundant), efficiency and durability.

3️⃣ Standardisation needs to be more extended across the whole value chain to both increase quality assurance and to decrease costs. This means to work together (even with competitors!) to come out with the solutions that the market is demanding. This includes heavy R&D investments to find those smart solutions that we don't have yet.

Feel free to comment and have a good conversation in the comments. This is an ongoing topic where all contributions matter if we want to fight effectively climate change and decarbonise our industries.

Special thanks to Sólja Jøkladal, Neil F. LaBrake, Jr., Fred Hencken, Jonas Schneemeier, Eric J. Miles, PE and Eva Ravn Nielsen for their contribution to this work.

P.S. It has been a while that you haven’t heard from me, but you know, life is complicated. Thanks a lot for your support!