Study highlights Canada as potential hydrogen hotspot

Published in Nature Communications, the study explored the costs and environmental impacts of possible large-scale hydrogen economies. Using four possible hydrogen demand scenarios for 2050 ranging from 111–614 megatonnes per year, the PSI team analysed which regions of the world could produce hydrogen most cost-effectively, taking into account renewable energy resources and access to water for electrolysis. It found that large parts of Canada could be some of the best regions for future hydrogen production. 

 “There are lots of open spaces which are very windy and therefore ideal for putting up wind turbines,” said principal author Tom Terlouw, a PhD student at PSI and ETH Zurich. 

“On top of this, there’s plenty of water around and the political situation is stable – although we didn’t consider these two criteria in great detail in our study. But of course, the availability of water for electrolysis also plays a role, as does the question of whether the country concerned is one from which hydrogen can be reliably imported.”

According to the researchers, the central United States also offers good conditions, as do parts of Australia, the Sahara, northern China and northwestern Europe. However, the study found that some areas likely to have high future demand of hydrogen, such as Japan and coastal areas of the US and China, could only produce hydrogen at a comparatively high cost.

“We have identified a certain discrepancy between regions with a high demand for hydrogen and regions with a high capacity to produce it efficiently,” Terlouw continued.

The researchers believe a future hydrogen economy would have to overcome this discrepancy through global trade, but this will require additional energy as well as political cooperation. Ultimately, the energy requirements arise because hydrogen is usually transported as a compound, in the form of ammonia or methanol. The volume of the pure gas is much too large, while the far more compact liquid form requires massive cooling.

The study also looked at other environmental side effects of a potential hydrogen economy, noting that there will still be significant carbon costs in fully green hydrogen production. These will include the embodied carbon in wind turbines, solar panels and electrolysers, as well as the fossil-fuel powered electricity likely used to produce them. According to the PSI research, these residual emissions could reach almost one gigatonnes of CO2 equivalents per year.

“It is important to emphasise that even a functioning hydrogen economy will continue to produce residual greenhouse gas emissions,” said Terlouw.

“Many of the systems and machines used in a hydrogen economy are manufactured in countries where, for the foreseeable future, their production will largely rely on fossil fuels. Most solar panels come from China nowadays, for example, where the bulk of the electricity is still produced by coal-fired power stations.”