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WHAT IS THE REAL COST OF HYDROGEN?
26th June 2007
What is the Real Cost of Hydrogen?
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Hydrogen from renewable energy sources is considered a main candidate for future vehicle fuels. Its costs, though, are frequently discussed since there is a lack of reliable data. This gap has been filled by a systematic study carried out by the engineering and consulting company PLANET from Oldenburg/Germany. The study will be published in the July/August issue of the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, under the title 'Realistic costs of wind-hydrogen vehicle fuel production'.
Based on today’s equipment costs, Joerg Linnemann and Robert Steinberger-Wilckens investigated the entire supply chain from wind energy via hydrogen production down to its employment in a fuel cell car.
'The results are encouraging' the authors say. Today, the price of hydrogen fuel derived from wind energy - produced at industrial scale and including all taxes - would be three times that of diesel for the case of Germany. A factor of ten or higher, as sometimes suggested, is not to be expected.
Future progress in hydrogen technology on the one hand and rising oil prices on the other are likely to further reduce this difference. When external (social and ecological) costs of hydrogen fuel and diesel are taken into consideration, the ratio is 2:1 even today.
The abstract can be read and the paper can also be downloaded individually (charged service).
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