Good news for the climate: green hydrogen will cost less.

As an extension of our article “The energy of tomorrow” published on March 9, 2021, we discussed the different sources of energy that will be available to us in the years to come. Among them, hydrogen could occupy a prominent place. A study by Bloomberg NEF, a research center dedicated to the energy transition, published on Wednesday, seems to go in this direction. Indeed, it reveals that hydrogen of renewable origin will cost less and less, which will make this source of energy much more financially attractive.

Like other energies, hydrogen can be produced either from very polluting fossil fuels and highly emitting CO² such as petroleum and coal, or a little less polluting like natural gas or it can be "clean" because it comes from renewable energies. It is on this last point that the study gives good prospects. Indeed, at present, green hydrogen obtained from wind, solar or hydroelectric power is still very expensive to produce. However, the study highlights a significant drop in production costs by 2050. The authors of the report give the main reason: “We now believe that photovoltaic electricity will be 40% cheaper in 2050 than we thought. just two years ago, thanks to a series of technical advances. The costs of producing green hydrogen from renewable electricity are expected to drop by up to 85% by 2050 ”

This study describes a trend that fits perfectly in the global fight against global warming. As an analyst at BNEF points out: “ Such low costs for hydrogen from renewable sources can completely redesign the energy map . In the future, at least 33% of the world economy could use clean energy without spending a dime more than for fossil energy ”.

To achieve this, however, political decision-makers will need to understand the challenges of supporting green hydrogen as well as the sectors that can benefit from it. Cars emitting only water vapor, clean heavy transport, low-carbon industries among others, will certainly help governments achieve the goals set at the various world climate conferences, not to mention the significantly lower bills that should also do a lot of good for global GDPs.