INDUSTRIES / GREEN HYDROGEN

MARIANA QUARESMA
WATER SUPPLY FOR UPCOMING GREEN HYDROGEN PROJECTS
UPDATED DECEMBER 2022

The growing pipeline of green hydrogen projects will require approximately 2 million m3/d of demineralised water (see
here) for the electrolysis process by 2030, according to GWI estimates. The majority of green hydrogen projects are at the
early stages and do not specify the source of water.

Seawater: around 42% of projects that do indicate their source of water will be using desalinated seawater. Projects
located in coastal zones and in water scarce regions are most likely to pursue seawater desalination in order to obtain
financial viability (with the decreasing costs of desalination plants making it a cheaper option when compared to
municipal water) and social licence from local communities. This proportion could be even greater if a significant
number of projects that are aimed at exports, and are thus strategically located in port areas, opt for desalinated
seawater as the most convenient and viable source of water.
Municipal water: this is the second most selected source of water, covering the water demand of 23% of green
hydrogen projects. As it includes projects supplied by water networks, this category can include recycled water as well
as other sources. The majority of these are located in Australia and Europe.
Recycled water: to a lesser degree some projects are meeting demand with recycled water, which can be treated
wastewater. For example, in Ceará, Brazil, water utility Cagece has signed an agreement with the Water Resources
Management Company of Ceará to provide treated wastewater for the electrolysis process (although currently this
agreement is not linked with any particular project).
Freshwater: only 11% of the projects that specify a water source will be using freshwater. This includes groundwater
as well as surface water sources such as rivers, lakes, and wells.

ANTICIPATED WATER DEMAND FOR GREEN HYDROGEN PROJECTS BY 2030

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 Units H2 production Water demand

m3/d < 1,000 < 10,000 < 50,000 < 100,000 > 100,000

Locations of projects known to be planning to source water via seawater desalination

Source: GWI, IEA

Notes: the map considers only projects with a start year between 2021 and 2030. The hydrogen production data is based on
24/7 production output, except when sources stated otherwise.

Check out the complete list of green hydrogen projects here.

ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY

Research has focused on developing electrolysers that do not require such high-quality water for hydrogen
production, replacing it with raw seawater or untreated wastewater. The latter has long sparked interest from
academia and although it has not moved into a commercial scale, there are some experimental projects such as
Aqualia’s Zeppelin and Eclosion projects that include microbial electrolysis cells (MECs), which derive energy from
organic matter in wastewater. On the other hand, Enterprize Energy Group is applying raw seawater electrolysis -
that requires highly chloride-tolerant electrodes - on a commercial scale. The Thang Long Wind 2 offshore project in
Vietnam will have a capacity of 2GW and its construction is expected to start in 2023.

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