Xi Xi at Johns Hopkins University in the USA and colleagues investigated how grid-connected green hydrogen production could support both the deployment of renewable energy infrastructure in Kenya and the impact of green hydrogen on the wider Kenyan economy. An energy system model was used to test a range of different potential deployment scenarios for electrolysers, wind energy and electricity demand. By providing a flexible demand source, hydrogen electrolysers reduced the levelized cost of electricity from renewable sources such as geothermal power and wind energy and supported greater deployment of wind energy projects by 2050. The expansion of these wind energy projects in turn reduced the cost of hydrogen. The cost of domestically produced hydrogen could be reduced to approximately US$2 kg–1 if favourable policies were implemented, such as tariff subsidies and compensation to hydrogen producers for providing electricity grid ancillary services.
The authors suggest that grid-connected green hydrogen systems are better than stand-alone export systems for expanding renewable energy deployment and green hydrogen production in Kenya. Carefully targeted policy and deployment decisions, including tariff support and rewards for flexible demand, could increase the affordability and decarbonization potential of both hydrogen and electricity in Kenya.
