Techno-Economic Assessment of Wind-Powered Green Hydrogen Production for US Industrial Decarbonization

TL;DR

This paper assesses the economic viability of wind-powered green hydrogen production for US industry, comparing off-grid and on-grid systems, and identifies regions and operational strategies that optimize costs and decarbonization potential.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive techno-economic framework for evaluating wind-powered hydrogen production pathways tailored for US industrial decarbonization.

Findings

Off-grid systems can achieve hydrogen costs around $7/kg in high-resource regions.

On-grid, price-responsive electrolysis can reduce costs to approximately $0.5/kg.

Midwest wind-rich regions are suitable for cost-effective green hydrogen production.

Abstract

This study evaluates the techno-economic feasibility of supplying industrial thermal loads with green hydrogen produced via water electrolysis using two pathways off-grid systems powered by co-located wind turbines and battery energy storage (BESS), and on-grid systems that procure electricity directly from the wind farm power node and operate electrolysers in response to real-time locational marginal prices (LMPs).The optimization results show that off-grid wind-to-hydrogen configurations in high-resource regions can achieve levelized costs of hydrogen (LCOH) on the order of \$7/kg, driven by high wind capacity factors and optimized BESS sizing that ensures operational continuity .Similarly in, on-grid, price-responsive operation achieves LCOH values of \$0.5/kg, reflecting sensitivity to electricity market volatility. Overall, the results suggest that Midwest wind-rich regions can support competitive green hydrogen production for industrial heat, with grid-connected electrolysers remaining attractive in locations with frequent low LMP periods. This dual-path analysis provides a transparent framework for industrial hydrogen deployment and highlights practical transition strategies for decarbonizing U.S. manufacturing.