Data tools launched to track low-emissions hydrogen projects

The International Energy Agency has released two interactive data tools that allow users to explore developments related to low-emissions hydrogen projects worldwide.

The first new data tool is an interactive map of low-emissions hydrogen production projects around the world.

The tool provides a snapshot of progress on hydrogen production, with data on almost 2,000 projects that are either already in operation or have been announced.

It shows that most projects to date are concentrated in Europe and Australia, but a growing number are planned in Africa, China, India, Latin America and the United States.

The second new interactive tool allows users to assess the levelised cost of hydrogen production from solar PV and onshore wind in different locations worldwide.

Based on the hourly solar PV and onshore wind capacity factors of locations around the world, the tool displays the cost-optimal capacities for solar PV, wind and electrolysers, as well as the need for flexibility options such as hydrogen storage, battery storage or curtailment.

Users can adjust assumptions about costs, including the cost of capital, to visualise different potential outlooks for the cost of low-emissions hydrogen production.

The tool has been developed using the ETHOS model suite of the Institute of Energy and Climate Research-3 at Research Centre Jülich.

The data tools complement the Global Hydrogen Review 2023, published in September, and the updated hydrogen production and infrastructure projects databases, which were released in October.

The IEA predicts that low-emissions hydrogen production can grow massively by 2030, with the number of project announcements expanding rapidly, as highlighted by the Global Hydrogen Review 2023.

However, ensuring that these announced projects reach completion will require policy action to stimulate demand for low-emissions hydrogen and to overcome delays in implementing support schemes and addressing regulatory barriers that are hampering scale-up.