MAN Energy Solutions and the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST have published their analysis of the framework conditions for the future supply of green hydrogen to the Salzgitter steel site near Hannover. Commissioned by Hydrogen Campus Salzgitter, the study investigates, among other questions, the role locally produced green hydrogen could play to support German supply and its potential competitiveness with imports. The study’s calculations show that – if used directly without further conversion – local hydrogen can be economical and even cheaper than imports from 2030 onwards. While production costs of around 4.00 euros per kilogram are possible in northern Germany, hydrogen imported from Tunisia, for example, would cost at least 4.70 euros to produce – profit margins in both cases not included. For the study, the authors modelled different supply chains for green hydrogen and compared possible import routes, such as those from Portugal, Canada, Tunisia and Australia. Although green hydrogen can be produced much more cheaply in countries with significant amounts of sunshine, it must then be converted for transport to Germany and subsequently back again for domestic use. This process step, which is fraught with costs and losses, drives the total expense above the cost price of H2 produced from wind energy in northern Germany, which can be transported by pipeline to its destination for immediate use. Due to its low energy-density and high volatility, pure hydrogen cannot yet be transported economically over longer distances, while ports possess neither tanker fleets nor appropriate infrastructure. Experts therefore assume that international transport will initially scale up via conversion to more conveniently transportable media, such as methanol, ammonia, etc. Due to low technological maturity and lack of infrastructure, the study by MAN Energy Solutions and IST did not consider liquefied hydrogen or so-called LOHCs (Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers) in its analysis.
MAN Energy Solutions and the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST have published their analysis of the framework conditions for the future supply of green hydrogen to the Salzgitter steel site near Hannover. Commissioned by Hydrogen Campus Salzgitter, the study investigates, among other questions, the role locally produced green hydrogen could play to support German supply and its potential competitiveness with imports. The study’s calculations show that – if used directly without further conversion – local hydrogen can be economical and even cheaper than imports from 2030 onwards. While production costs of around 4.00 euros per kilogram are possible in northern Germany, hydrogen imported from Tunisia, for example, would cost at least 4.70 euros to produce – profit margins in both cases not included. For the study, the authors modelled different supply chains for green hydrogen and compared possible import routes, such as those from Portugal, Canada, Tunisia and Australia. Although green hydrogen can be produced much more cheaply in countries with significant amounts of sunshine, it must then be converted for transport to Germany and subsequently back again for domestic use. This process step, which is fraught with costs and losses, drives the total expense above the cost price of H2 produced from wind energy in northern Germany, which can be transported by pipeline to its destination for immediate use. Due to its low energy-density and high volatility, pure hydrogen cannot yet be transported economically over longer distances, while ports possess neither tanker fleets nor appropriate infrastructure. Experts therefore assume that international transport will initially scale up via conversion to more conveniently transportable media, such as methanol, ammonia, etc. Due to low technological maturity and lack of infrastructure, the study by MAN Energy Solutions and IST did not consider liquefied hydrogen or so-called LOHCs (Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers) in its analysis.
