U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Office

Fact #205: February 25, 2002
Hydrogen Cost and Worldwide Production

Most hydrogen produced today is consumed on site, such as at an oil refinery, and is not sold on the market. From large-scale production, hydrogen costs $0.32/lb if consumed on site. When sold on the market, the cost of liquefying the hydrogen and transporting it to the user must be added to the production cost. This can increase the selling price to $1.00-$1.40/lb for delivered liquid hydrogen. Some users, such as the electronics industry, who require relatively small amounts of very pure hydrogen may use electrolyzers to produce high-purity hydrogen at their facilities. The cost of this hydrogen, which depends on the cost of the electricity used to split the water, is typically $1.00-$2.00/lb.

Recent worldwide production data for hydrogen are as follows:

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