Perspectives to the Value Chain and Hydrogen Price Creation Using Wind Power
Please login to view abstract download link
This presentation examines how green hydrogen price is created along a wind-power-to-hydrogen value chain, with a focus on electrolyser-based production (AWE and PEM) and the surrounding electrical and process infrastructure in Finland. A simplified system is assumed where wind power is the primary electricity source, while oxygen is treated as a secondary output that can be stored or transferred elsewhere. Using hour-averaged Finnish Meteorological Institute wind data from 2024 (scaled to 100 m), a 9 MW wind turbine example yields an annual average power of 3.1 MW and approximately 24.5 GWh of electricity (≈35% efficiency), forming the basis for hourly hydrogen production modelling. Two operational principles are compared: (1) steady hydrogen production, where grid electricity is purchased during low wind and surplus wind power is sold during high wind; and (2) dynamic wind-following production, enabled especially by PEM electrolysers with low minimum load (≈10%), but requiring storage capacity to ensure continuous deliveries. The analysis uses an Excel-based cost model where CAPEX includes loan share, interest, and payback assumptions, and OPEX is treated as a percentage of CAPEX. Results highlight that electrolyser investment cost dominates hydrogen economics and varies widely by market: “inside China” system prices can be a fraction of EU levels, though export prices rise due to higher equipment costs and Western EPC requirements. Hydrogen costs also depend strongly on non-electrolyser factors such as time efficiency/availability, financing interest rate, and especially the share of self-produced versus market electricity—driving illustrative outcomes from ~3.5 €/kg in favourable conditions to ~4.6 €/kg in less favourable ones. Overall, hydrogen price creation is a dynamic system-level problem shaped by operational strategy, infrastructure losses, financing, and electricity sourcing as much as electrolyser efficiency itself.
