The Evolution of Size and Cost of a Hydrogen Delivery Infrastructure in Europe in the Medium and Long Term

The successful deployment of a hydrogen delivery (transmission and distribution) infrastructure will be critical for widespread use of hydrogen as an energy carrier. Estimates based on three scenarios that vary in the degree of hydrogen penetration in the energy system indicate that between 1 and 4 million km of distribution pipelines and up to 35000 km of high-pressure transmission pipelines and 400.000km of medium pressure sub-transmission pipelines may be needed by 2050. A truck fleet, necessary to supply refuelling stations with liquefied hydrogen, may reach the size of 5000-9000 vehicles. The cumulative capital necessary to build this infrastructure by 2050 may range between 700 and 2200 billion euros for the optimistic scenario of a fully-fledged hydrogen economy. The costs associated with the more pessimistic scenarios are significantly lower.

TZIMAS Evangelos;  CASTELLO Paolo;  PETEVES Estathios; 

2007-06-22

ELSEVIER

JRC32027

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC32027,