HyPat – Global Hydrogen Potential Atlas

The "HyPat" project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, is developing a global hydrogen potential atlas. For the first time, Germany's potential partner countries for a cooperative green hydrogen economy, including the most suitable production regions for a safe, economical and ecologically sustainable supply, are being comprehensively identified.

Green hydrogen plays a crucial role in the transformation of industry, the transport sector and the energy sector towards sustainability and climate neutrality. However, Germany will have to import a large share of green hydrogen and hydrogen-based synthesis products to meet its needs, as renewable energy sources to produce green hydrogen are only available to a limited extent in Germany. In the "HyPat" project, we are therefore investigating and analyzing sustainable locations in the world for the green hydrogen economy of tomorrow. The results of our technical, economic and social assessments of green hydrogen potential will be compiled in a global hydrogen potential atlas.

The project is based on the objectives of the German National Hydrogen Strategy, the international Agreement on Climate Protection and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

The central research questions of the project are:

1. Which environmental aspects and sustainability criteria need to be considered for a global, green hydrogen economy?
2. How can global potentials for importing green hydrogen and synthesis products be economically assessed and evaluated?
3. What potentials for the producing countries arise in a globally networked hydrogen economy in order to generate added value, jobs and co-benefits locally?

Fraunhofer ISE works on the following tasks:

• comparison of locations for green hydrogen production and energy export paths
• detailed and comprehensive analysis of potential production and transport costs to Germany for the following countries: Brazil, Morocco, Canada, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates
• assessment of hydrogen supply costs for hydrogen and selected synthesis products in close cooperation with Fraunhofer IEG and ISI

In addition to a detailed survey of the global techno-economic potential and analyzing hydrogen chains, the analysis includes the local needs of the partner countries, also taking into account the sustainable coverage of their domestic energy demand, the achievement of their own climate goals and compliance with specific sustainability criteria for the hydrogen economy in the partner countries. Furthermore, these countries’ capability to build and operate such capital- and technology-intensive plants is analyzed. The opportunities resulting for these countries will also be surveyed and acceptance and stakeholder analyses conducted.

The resulting supply of hydrogen and synthesis products is then compared with the global demand of the importing countries. One focus is analyzing how hydrogen markets can be established and which market prices for hydrogen can be expected in the future.

On this basis, recommendations for the development of a sustainable import strategy for Germany will be made to policymakers.

The final project results will be published at the project website once the project has been completed.

The project "HYPAT- H2-POTENTIALATLAS" is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF as part of the "Hydrogen Republic of Germany" ideas competition in the module basic research on green hydrogen . The Project Management Jülich provides technical and administrative support for the "HyPat" project on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research BMBF.