Michael B. McElroy 2020 #Infra4Dev Conference: Decarbonizing Infrastructure www.worldbank.org/infra4dev2

1. Prospects for Hydrogen in a Future Low-Carbon
Energy Economy
Michael McElroy Harvard University

2. • Installed capacity for wind power in North China reached 59 GW in 2019;
• Curtailment of wind sources during winter poses a serious problem;
• Responsible for a financial loss of $1.2 billion between 2010-2016;
• Electrolysis could provide an application for wind that would otherwise be
wasted;

3. • Harvard study directed at Western Inner Mongolia suggests that wind
could provide an economically competitive source of hydrogen resulting in
significant savings in fossil fuel carbon emissions;
• Industrial applications include iron and steel, fertilizers, and methanol
production among others;
• Electrolysis, in addition to providing a source of green hydrogen could also
provide a source of pure oxygen;
• Applications also in combination with fuel cells in transportation;

4. • Offshore wind resources could provide an important economically
competitive source of power for China’s coastal regions;
• Could eliminate need for further investments in coal fired systems
contributing to President Xi’s commitment that China will be carbon neutral
by 2060 if not earlier;
• Could provide a significant source of green hydrogen;
• Possibility of cooperative development with Japan and Korea?

6. • Levelized cost of electricity

7. • Continuing work at Harvard includes a comprehensive study of the
opportunities for wind and solar in India including opportunities for cost
competitive production of hydrogen;
• Addresses also the questions of whether export of hydrogen from wind
and solar rich countries could provide an important market for these
countries, substituting in part at least for current trade in oil and natural
gas;

8. Thank you!
Michael McElroy
Professor, Harvard University
mbm@seas.harvard.edu