Lex in depth: the staggering cost of a green hydrogen economy

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

60% : Generating this amount of hydrogen will need almost 25,000TWh of renewable electricity a year, about 100 times the UK's current electricity demand.
57% : Unlike its most common form of production, known as grey hydrogen, which is extracted from natural gases in a carbon-intensive process, the green version relies on renewable energy, such as solar or wind power, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
53% : Some 1,000 new projects globally have been announced to date, requiring total investment of $320bn, according to the Hydrogen Council, an industry body whose members include oil companies such as BP and carmakers like BMW Group.
52% : That would be a better bet than going through the rigmarole of using renewable electricity to split water and generate "green" hydrogen, that can then be burnt in boilers.
51% : For an idea of the size of this capital project, however, it is worth dividing hydrogen capex three ways; the cost of renewable electricity needed to make the gas, expenditure on electrolysers used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen and, lastly, the infrastructure -- pipelines, ships and storage sites -- required to take the hydrogen where it is needed.
49% : Using surplus renewable energy to make hydrogen and then using that to make electricity is convoluted, but there are not many alternatives for seasonal storage.
48% : To ensure the hydrogen is truly "green", it must be produced off-grid during the limited periods when there is an excess of renewable electricity.

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