Ecological and Economic Evaluation of Hydrogen Production by Different Water Electrolysis Technologies

The economic and ecological production of green hydrogen by water electrolysis is one of the major challenges within Carbon2Chem® and other power‐to‐X projects. This paper presents an evaluation of the different water electrolysis technologies with respect to their specific energy demand, carbon footprint and the forecast production costs in 2030. From a current perspective alkaline water electrolysis is evaluated as the most favorable technology for the cost‐effective production of low‐carbon hydrogen with fluctuating renewables. This article evaluates the production of green hydrogen by alkaline water electrolysis, proton exchange membrane water electrolysis, and solid oxide electrolysis cell from an economic and ecological perspective. The hydrogen production costs and the carbon footprint have been determined as a function of the electricity mix.