Hydrogen Demand, Production, and Cost by Region to 2050

摘要

This report presents an analysis of potential hydrogen (H2) demand, production, and cost by region (i.e., U.S. Census Division) to 2050. The analysis was conducted to (1) address the Energy Information Administrations (EIAs) request for regional H2 cost estimates that will be input to its energy modeling system and (2) identify key regional issues associated with the use of H2 that need further study. Hydrogen costs may vary substantially by region. Many feedstocks may be used to produce H2, and the use of these feedstocks is likely to vary by region. For the same feedstock, regional variation exists in capital and energy costs. Furthermore, delivery costs are likely to vary by region: some regions are more rural than others, and so delivery costs will be higher. However, to date, efforts to comprehensively and consistently estimate future H2 costs have not yet assessed regional variation in these costs. To develop the regional cost estimates and identify regional issues requiring further study, we developed a H2 demand scenario that reflects fuel cell vehicle market success to 2050 and allocated H2 demand by region and within regions by metropolitan versus non-metropolitan areas.