WEMO 2025 (complet) - Flipbook - Page 17
W E M O 202 5
O U T LO O K
In July 2025, China’s Envision Energy launched the world’s
largest green hydrogen and ammonia plant in Chifeng
(Inner Mongolia)98,99.Powered entirely by the largest o昀昀-grid
renewable energy system, the plant is also the 昀椀rst of its kind
to be fully AI-enabled, achieving real-time optimization and
stability at scale. The plant will deliver 320,000 tons of green
ammonia annually with exports commencing in Q4 2025.
Europe green hydrogen averages €4–6/kg, while grey is
€1.5–2.5/kg100. In the U.S., green hydrogen costs €5–7/
kg, while grey is €1–2/kg, driven by cheap natural gas101.
Scalling infrastructure (notably by building Mega factories),
improving electrolyser e昀케ciency, and cheaper renewables are
key to making green hydrogen competitive, with electrolyzer
costs expected to decline from $600/kW to $400/kW by
• Technical issues and remediation103,104:
In 2024, electrolyzers for green hydrogen faced challenges
like high material costs, membrane degradation, gas crosspermeability, and scalability, particularly for Proton Exchange
Membrane Electrolysis (PEM) and Alkaline Water Electrolysis
(AWE), systems. PEM systems struggled with costly noble metal
catalysts (e.g., iridium) and gas crossover, while AWE systems
had lower e昀케ciency and slower response to renewable inputs.
96https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2024
97https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/new-energy-outlook/?utm_source=google&utm_
medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=emea_bnef_bssscorp_2025_ao&utm_content=text_bnefemea-nonbrand98https://carboncredits.com/chinas-envision-energy-launches-worlds-largest-green-hydrogenand-ammonia-plant/
99
https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/envision-delivers-on-worlds-largest-greenhydrogen-and-ammonia-plant-with-off-grid-renewable-system-302502294.html
Innovations included catalyst-coated membrane 105 reducing
iridium use by 25 times and Toshiba’s 90% iridium reduction
technology. Membrane-free designs and advanced
manufacturing, like 3D printing, are aimed to lower costs
and improve scalability.
100
https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/%202020/Dec/IRENA_Green_
hydrogen_cost_2020.pdf
101
https://www.lazard.com/media/xemfey0k/lazards-lcoeplus-june-2024-_vf.pdf
102
https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/electrolysers/
cost-of-electrolysers-for-green-hydrogen-production-is-rising-instead-of-falling-bnef/2-1-1607220
103
https://www.policycircle.org/environment/green-hydrogen-advancements/
104
https://www.libertyspecialtymarkets.com/gb-en/article/
green-hydrogen-scale-up-giga-projects-and-mega-challenges
105
https://www.bspkl.co/
• Hydrogen transportation:
√ Short-distance issues include limited pipeline
infrastructure (only 4,300 km of hydrogen pipelines
globally 106 ) and storage ine昀케ciencies due to
hydrogen’s low density. Solutions involve building
hydrogen facilities near the utilization industrial assets
or blending hydrogen into existing gas networks (up
to 20% safely). However, hydrogen causes pipelines
cracking and deforming through embrittlement
limiting their transportation capacity.
√ Long-distance hydrogen transport faces challenges
like high costs and energy losses, with pipeline
transmission costing $1.5 to 2.5/kg per 1,000 km107 and
liquefaction for shipping requiring 30% of hydrogen’s
energy content 108
For transporting large quantities of hydrogen over long
distances, liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs)109 are a
very promising alternative. However, there is a need to develop
new and alternative LOHCs that ful昀椀l several criteria, such as
thermal and chemical stability, low toxicity, sustainability and
high hydrogen storage capacity,
https://www.rystadenergy.com/news/
building-the-future-hydrogen-pipelines-start-to-materialize-in-europe
https://www.eai.in/blog/2024/03/realistic-cost-for-green-hydrogen-transportation-in-pipelinesroad-and-rail.html
108
https://ieefa.org/resources/hydrogen-energy-supply-chain-project-viability-remains-uncertainwake-hydrogen-headstart
109
https://cicenergigune.com/en/blog/tecnologies-liquid-organic-hydrogen-carriers-lohc-ekarrih2
106
107
WEMO 2025
2030 mirroring solar and battery trends. However, in 2024
and early 2025, electrolyzers have faced technical challenges
notably linked to their load-following capabilities. Contrary
to forecasts, their costs - comprising 15–30% of the levelized
cost of hydrogen (LCOH) - rose over 50% in 2024 in China, the
U.S., and Europe compared to 2023102.
16
• Green hydrogen costs are falling in China: Green
hydrogen costs globally range from €3–8/kg, compared to
grey hydrogen’s €1–2.5/kg, varying by region due to renewable
energy and natural gas prices96. In China, green hydrogen is
cheapest at €2–4/kg, sometimes undercutting grey hydrogen
(€3–5/kg) due to low-cost renewables and electrolyzers.97
