The states with the potential for the lowest cost of manufacturing green hydrogen in the nation are Rio Grande do Norte, Bahia, and Ceará, according to the preliminary findings of a study done by the SENAI Institute for Innovation in Renewable Energies (ISN-ER).
According to ISI-ER researcher Raniere Rodri, “depending on the business model adopted, the cost of production in the country is estimated between 2 and 7 dollars per kilo of hydrogen (large-scale production), while in Europe, due to factors like the conflict in Russia and Ukraine, the price of natural gas, and high demand, the value may currently exceed 10 euros, depending on the application and the region (approximately 10.76 dollars, considering the exchange rate of 24/03),
The foreign market is looking at our nation, the researcher who spoke with the Solar Channel remarked, and spending in research to direct the techniques for evaluating this hydrogen. The project, now under progress at ISI-ER in collaboration with the consultancy Niras and the German international cooperation agency GIZ, will demonstrate the cost of hydrogen production in Brazil through the year 2050.
With this study, we will present the potentials by state, presenting geographically where it can produce, how much it can produce, and the cost of this production. This is what we are doing in Brazil, a study to evaluate the production capacity of this hydrogen through wind, solar, hydraulic, and biomass energy.
Due to cost and area availability, Raniere believes that the Northeastern states are the most promising regions in this regard. The location of the consumer market, the available energy infrastructure, and the people who will service are going to be strategically important factors.
After nine months of investigation, the study’s final form will be made public in April. Only preliminary statistics have been released to date. The study is broken up into two sections: the first discusses the manufacturing costs and productive capacity, while the second outlines where hydrogen fits into the supply and distribution chains for industrial goods.
Only 4% of the hydrogen produced globally, or hydrogen obtained through electrolysis, is green, according to Rodrigues. The main defence is that grey hydrogen is currently more affordable than green hydrogen (natural gas route).
Energy use and equipment purchases are the two key factors that affect hydrogen prices (electrolyzer). The price of green hydrogen is anticipated to decrease thanks to incentives and investments; the cost of H2V is predicted to fall by 70% by 2030.
