IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/epw/energy/v5y2025i5id7176.html

Life Cycle Emissions of Hydrogen Production Technologies in the Nordics

Author

Listed:
  • Jenni Iso-Oja
  • Olli Himanen

Abstract

Europe has ambitious goals for future hydrogen production. The increasing production of green hydrogen demands for research on the different environmental effects of hydrogen production methods. This study compiles comprehensive and comparable values of the life cycle emissions of three electrolyzer technologies: alkaline water electrolyzers, proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers and solid oxide electrolysis cells. A comparison of hydrogen production via wind and solar electricity is listed. Additionally, the changes in land usage required for the hydrogen production process are considered. The emission comparison reveals that hydrogen produced using wind energy is environmentally more sustainable than using solar energy, regardless of the electrolyzer technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Jenni Iso-Oja & Olli Himanen, 2025. "Life Cycle Emissions of Hydrogen Production Technologies in the Nordics," European Journal of Energy Research, European Open Science, vol. 5(5), pages 6-17, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:epw:energy:v:5:y:2025:i:5:id:7176
    DOI: 10.24018/ejenergy.2025.5.5.176
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://eu-opensci.org/index.php/ejenergy/article/view/7176
    File Function: Abstract page
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://eu-opensci.org/index.php/ejenergy/article/download/7176/1163
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.24018/ejenergy.2025.5.5.176?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. ., 2023. "Introduction to The Global Challenge," Chapters, in: The Global Challenge, chapter 1, pages 1-36, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. ., 2023. "Financial globalization since the 1970s," Chapters, in: Financial Crises and Recession in the Global Economy, chapter 1, pages 1-34, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. ., 2023. "Financialisation, neoliberalism and globalisation," Chapters, in: Financialisation, chapter 6, pages 122-142, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. ., 2023. "The making of global business in long-run perspective," Chapters, in: Global Business, chapter 12, pages 275-297, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. George R. G. Clarke, 2023. "The Globalization Myth: Why Regions Matter," The International Trade Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6), pages 653-656, November.
    6. Ahmad Sahide & Muhlis & Misran & Ali Muhammad, 2023. "Global Media Framing Russian Invasion of Ukraine," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 12, July.
    7. Natalie Brown & Geneviève K. R. Williams & Anna Stodter & Melitta A. McNarry & Olga Roldan-Reoyo & Kelly A. Mackintosh & Isabel S. Moore & Elisabeth M. P. Williams, 2023. "A Global Women’s Rugby Union Web-Based Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(8), pages 1-7, April.
    8. ., 2023. "Global trends in consumer behavior," Chapters, in: Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior, chapter 5, pages 54-67, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. anonymous, 1991. "PRE working paper series : numbers 628 to 668," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10354, The World Bank.
    10. Alexandre K. Magnan & Robert Bell & Virginie K. E. Duvat & James D. Ford & Matthias Garschagen & Marjolijn Haasnoot & Carmen Lacambra & Inigo J. Losada & Katharine J. Mach & Mélinda Noblet & Devanatha, 2023. "Status of global coastal adaptation," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 13(11), pages 1213-1221, November.
    11. ., 2023. "Development indicators at the global level," Chapters, in: Macroeconomics for Development, chapter 2, pages 15-29, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. DeFiDAO & David Kuo Chuen Lee & Chong Guan & Ding Ding, 2023. "Global Web3 Eco Innovation," World Scientific Books, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., number 13605.
    13. Catão, Luis A. V. & de Faria, Pedro & Martins, António & Portela, Miguel, 2023. "Globalization and Firm Performance," IZA Discussion Papers 15903, IZA Network @ LISER.
    14. ., 2023. "Enhancing global integration," Chapters, in: The Global Challenge, chapter 3, pages 71-105, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. ., 2023. "Globalization and the desire for authoritarianism," Chapters, in: Authoritarian Capitalism in the Age of Globalization, chapter 3, pages 27-40, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Ferreira, Thiago R.T. & Shousha, Samer, 2023. "Determinants of global neutral interest rates," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Khan, Shah Khalid & Shiwakoti, Nirajan & Stasinopoulos, Peter & Chen, Yilun & Warren, Matthew, 2024. "The impact of perceived cyber-risks on automated vehicle acceptance: Insights from a survey of participants from the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 87-101.
    2. Martini, Valerio & Mocera, Francesco & Somà, Aurelio, 2025. "Comparative analysis of hybrid fuel cell powertrain architectures for orchard tractors using hardware-in-the-loop technique," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    3. E. W. S. Kam & R. C. K. Leung & R. M. C. So & X. M. Li, 2007. "A Lattice Boltzmann Method For Computation Of Aeroacoustic Interaction," International Journal of Modern Physics C (IJMPC), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 18(04), pages 463-472.
    4. Priyan, S. & Matahen, Reem & Priyanshu, Deepa & Mouqdadi, Mahera, 2024. "Environmental strategies for a healthcare system with green technology investment and pandemic effects," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(1).
    5. Sampene, Agyemang Kwasi & Li, Cai & Wiredu, John, 2024. "An outlook at the switch to renewable energy in emerging economies: The beneficial effect of technological innovation and green finance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    6. Juselius, Mikael, 2025. "Navigating the sea of natural real interest rate estimates," BoF Economics Review 3/2025, Bank of Finland.
    7. Danilo Leiva-León & Rodrigo Sekkel & Luis Uzeda, 2026. "Do Monetary Policy Shocks Affect the Neutral Rate of Interest?," Working Papers 26-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    8. Lin, Zih-Hong & Laffan, Shawn W. & Metternicht, Graciela, 2025. "Strategically identifying optimal locations for multifunctional green infrastructure: A case study in the Taipei Basin," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    9. Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo & Oktay Özkan & Zahoor Ahmed & Victoria Olushola Olanrewaju, 2026. "How do high-tech industry, energy efficiency (gas and oil), and social globalization affect load capacity factor in Saudi Arabia? A Time-varying quantile regression," Energy & Environment, , vol. 37(2), pages 730-757, March.
    10. Latukha, Marina & Alon, Ilan & Kuleshov, Nikita & Vaiman, Vlad, 2024. "The effect of sanctions on macro talent management: The case of Russia," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 59(5).
    11. Kumar, Ashish & Salo, Jari & Bezawada, Ram, 2024. "The effects of buy now, pay later (BNPL) on customers’ online purchase behavior," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 100(4), pages 602-617.
    12. Amankwah, Akuffo & Ambel, Alemayehu & Gourlay, Sydney & Kilic, Talip & Markhof, Yannick & Wollburg, Philip, 2025. "Smallholder farming, fertilizer use, and the polycrisis period: Cross-country evidence from longitudinal surveys in Sub-Saharan Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    13. Kaebi, Mohammed Mehdi & Ferreira Batista Martins, Igor, 2025. "Long-Run Interest Rate Differentials and the Profitability of Currency Carry," Working Papers 2025:10, Örebro University, School of Business.
    14. Nickel, Christiane & Kilponen, Juha & Moral-Benito, Enrique & Koester, Gerrit & Ciccarelli, Matteo & Enders, Almira & Holton, Sarah & Landau, Bettina & Venditti, Fabrizio & Bobeica, Elena & Brand, Cla, 2025. "A strategic view on the economic and inflation environment in the euro area," Occasional Paper Series 371, European Central Bank.
    15. Sangyup Choi & Chaewon Kim & Inhwan So, 2026. "Demographic Changes and Real Exchange Rates: Future of an Aging Economy," Working papers 2026rwp-285, Yonsei University, Yonsei Economics Research Institute.
    16. Krahé, Max, 2023. "Italiens Stagnation verstehen," Papers 277907, Dezernat Zukunft - Institute for Macrofinance, Berlin.
    17. Sen, Kanchan Kumar & Chapman, Andrew J. & Saha, Bidyut Baran, 2024. "Women's empowerment: A catalyst for addressing energy poverty and energy inequality in developing countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    18. Ying Pan & Siyi Feng & Ying Shi, 2025. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Mechanisms of Coastal Rural Settlements Under Diverse Geomorphic Conditions: A Multi-Bay Analysis in Guangdong, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-27, July.
    19. Wang, Aijia & Wang, Junqi & Zhang, Ruijun & Cao, Shi-Jie, 2024. "Mitigating urban heat and air pollution considering green and transportation infrastructure," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    20. Ningning Cui & Emmanuel Nketiah & Xiaoyu Ma, 2023. "Do Green Energy and Information Technology Influence Greenhouse Gas Emitting Countries to Attain Sustainable Development?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-19, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:epw:energy:v:5:y:2025:i:5:id:7176. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Support Team (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://eu-opensci.org/index.php/ejenergy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.