Green Hydrogen
Hydrogen electrolysers are devices that use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. When electricity input to the electrolyser is obtained from sources like wind and solar, then the hydrogen produced is called green hydrogen. Typically, electrolysers consume 50-55 kilowatt-hours or units of electricity to produce one kilogram of hydrogen. Electrolysers produce hydrogen at about 50-90 degree Celsius and at a pressure of 30-50 bar. Electrolysers are commercially available at a size of a few kilowatts (kW) to megawatts (MW).
How important is this component in green hydrogen technology?
Electrolyser is the heart of the hydrogen production cost. According to our analysis, electrolysers today constitute about 33-57 per cent of the total hydrogen production cost. The rest is divided between renewable and hydrogen storage units. Globally, industries have now set the ‘1-1-1’ target for green hydrogen. This implies achieving a green hydrogen cost of $1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade. The price of green hydrogen today is $3.5 to $4.5 per kg. For realising the ‘1-1-1’ goal on green hydrogen, we have estimated that the cost of electrolyser has to reduce from $500 to $700 per kW today to about $200 per kW, the electrolyser stack life has to double and the electrolyser efficiency has to go up to 80 per cent from 66.5 per cent today.
