Technico-Economic Analysis of Renewable Hydrogen Production in Algeria

Hydrogen, as a clean energy source, is a serious contender first as an alternative then ultimately as a substitute to the polluting and depleting conventional energy resources. In the present communication, an analysis of the potential of renewable hydrogen production is carried out. To this end, the concept of technology learning curves is applied to the cost of hydrogen production in order to assess its viability and its sustainability in Algeria. Taking into consideration projected technological advances in systems for solar energy harvesting as well as for water electrolysis, the availability of natural resources for hydrogen production and using economic variables, different scenarios are used to estimate the cost of hydrogen production. The present results indicate that hydrogen economy is viable and shows a promising prospect for most of the sites in the country. The production of hydrogen opens new opportunities for the country. It allows the country not only to diversify its energy resources but also to keep its share of the energy market.