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Renewable Resources for Hydrogen

Ali A. Jalalzadeh-Azar

Presented at the 

Renewable Hydrogen 

Workshop, NHA Hydrogen 

Conference and Expo

May 3, 2010

Long Beach, CA

NREL/PR-560-48222
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Objectives

 Provide an overview of the pathways to 

hydrogen production from renewables.

 Demonstrate the abundance of renewable 

resources for hydrogen production via GIS 

analyses in conjunction with the current U.S. 

energy consumption.

 Highlight challenges in providing renewable 

hydrogen. 
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Pathways to Hydrogen Production from Renewables

Resources Production Processes Applications

Renewable Electricity

(Solar, wind, etc.)

Biomass (wood, etc.)

Biomass (landfills, dairy 

farms, etc.)

Electrolysis

Biological Organisms 

(algae, bacteria, etc.)

Gasification / 

Reformation

Photosynthesis / 

Fermentation

H2

Biogas 

Upgrading

Anaerobic 

Digester Reformer
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Resource Solar PV/CSP) Wind Geothermal Water Power Biopower

Theoretical 

Potential

206,000 GW 

(PV)

11,100GW 

(CSP)

8,000 GW 

(onshore)

2,200 GW 

(offshore to 

50 nm)

39 GW 

(conventional) 

520 GW (EGS)

4 GW 

(co-produced)

140 GW 78 GW

U.S. Renewable Resources

Electrical Power Potentials: (Source: http://www.nrel.gov/gis/)
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Solar Resources—PV and CSP

Photovoltaic Solar

kWh/m2 /day

Concentrating Solar

kWh/m2 /day

Source: http://www.nrel.gov/gis/

Resource Solar PV Solar 

CSP

Theoretical 

Potential

206,000 

GW 

11,100 GW

 Southwest region offers 

greatest solar power density. 

 PV has the dominant share of 

solar potential.

 The existing total power 

generation capacity in the U.S.* 

comprises about 0.54 % of the 

PV solar theoretical potential.

* Based on EIA data (http://www.eia.doe.gov/).
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Wind and Biomass Resources

 Central region offers greatest wind power 

potential. 

 The existing total power generation capacity 

in the U.S.* represents about 14 % of the 

onshore wind theoretical potential .

 Biomass resources are spatially more 

scattered and offer environmental and 

economic opportunities particularly at local / 

municipal levels.

 Production of biomethane from biomass 

can support the regional natural gas grid. 

Source: http://www.nrel.gov/gis/
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Hydrogen Production Potential from Solar and Wind

 Hydrogen production potential from 

PV and wind: 1,110 billion kg 

(~gallons of gasoline equivalent--

gge)

 Gasoline consumption for US 

transportation in 2005: 128 billion 

gallons.

 The potential for hydrogen 

production is more than 8 times the 

transportation fuel consumption.

 (The remaining potential is 

sufficient to meet the energy 

requirements of stationary 

applications in the U.S.)

Levene, J. I.; Mann, M. K.; Margolis, R.; and Milbrandt, A. 2005. “An Analysis of Hydrogen Production from Renewable Electricity Sources.” ISES 2005 

Solar World Congress, Orlando, Florida, August 6-12.

Source:

• Wind Class of 3 or better

• PV efficiency: 10%

• Land coverage for PV: 3% of available lands 

(accounting for excluded areas)

• Installation of 5 MW of wind turbine per square km

• Overall electrolysis efficiency: 75% (HHV).

Key Assumptions:
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 Hydrogen production potential from 

key renewable resources—onshore 

wind, solar PV, and biomass.

(~ 1 billion metric tons.)

 The Great Plains region offers the 

greatest potential.

 Projected spatial hydrogen demand 

for transportation based on key 

attributes of consumers (e.g., 

education, hybrid vehicle 

registration) 

Melendez, M.; Milbrandt, A. (2006). Geographically Based Hydrogen Consumer 

Demand and Infrastructure Analysis: Final Report. 35 pp.; NREL Report No. TP560-40373.

Milbrandt, A.; Mann, M. (2006). Potential for Producing Hydrogen from Key 

Renewable Resources in the United States. 32 pp.; NREL Report No. TP-640-

41134.

Hydrogen Supply vs. Demand in Spatial Domain
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Hydrogen Potential from Key Renewable Resources

Source: Milbrandt, A.; Mann, M. (2006). Potential for Producing Hydrogen from Key Renewable Resources in the United States. 32 pp.; NREL Report No. 

TP-640-41134. Relative Contributions Potential, million kg
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19%

6%

28%

5%

34% 1%

7%

Renewable Energy Use (2008) = 7.3 quads

Biofuels

Waste

Wood Derived Fuels

Geothermal Energy

Hydroelectric Conventional

Solar/PV Energy

Wind Energy

Biomass

 Renewable energy 

plays a small role in 

spite of its potential.

 Solar energy has 

disproportionately 

small contribution.

Based on EIA data (http://www.eia.doe.gov/)

Energy Consumption by Source

84%

~0%

9%

7%

Total Energy Consumption (2008) = 99.3 quads

Fossil Fuels

Electricity Net Imports

Nuclear Electric Power

Renewable Energy

High costs and lack of 

infrastructure are 

plausible reasons—

policies and incentives 

can change these.
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Example of Untapped Resources for Hydrogen—Landfills

Sites without Projects Sites with Projects

Source: http://rpm.nrel.gov/biopower/biopower/launch 

 Underlines significance of 

stranded biogas potential 

for onsite power generation 

and biomethane / hydrogen 

production. 

 Landfills typically offer a 

greater biogas potential 

than sewage treatment 

facilities and dairy farms.

(In California, biogas potential 

from landfills is ~ 5 times as 

much as that of the other two 

combined.)

 Economy of scale works in 

favor of landfills, but biogas 

upgrading requirements 

can be challenging. 
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Challenges

 Dependency of hydrogen production cost via electrolysis on electricity 

price presents an economic challenge for using renewable electricity.

 Economic competition of renewables with conventional sources of 

energy for hydrogen production without adequate environmental and 

energy policies/incentive. (Requirements such as RPSs and SB1505 can be 

effective drivers for renewables.)

 Because of spatial mismatch between hydrogen demand and production 

source, infrastructure is required for cost-effective transport.

 Daily / seasonal variation of energy supply capacity from renewables and 

temporal mismatch between supply and demand necessitate use of costeffective energy (electricity, biomethane, hydrogen) storage—a conduit 

of energy in time.

 Optimum utilization of renewable sources of energy for hydrogen 

requires complex technoeconomic analyses considering key factors such 

as availability of renewable energy, energy costs, alignment of energy 

supply / demand, and infrastructure capabilities.
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Conclusions

 Renewable resources for hydrogen are abundant, but their large-scale 

utilization requires overcoming economic challenges and infrastructural 

limitations arising from spatial and temporal gaps between the energy 

source and demand.

 Availability of various pathways to hydrogen production offers 

opportunities for selection of the best alternatives (integrated as well as 

stand-alone) at the local/regional levels in conjunction with the respective 

indigenous renewable energy resources. 

 Well orchestrated policies and incentives, along with analyses and R&D, 

can help overcome these challenges.
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Questions / Comments ?

Thank you!