Electricity price and energy consumption per unit of hydrogen production are the two variables that contribute to the highest sensitivity of the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH). The company claims that full-load DC power consumption of alkaline and PEM electrolyzers is currently in the range of 4.5–4.6 kwh/Nm³. The full-load DC power consumption of ALK Hi1 can be as low as 4.3 kwh/Nm³. It is even lower for ALK Hi1 Plus, down to 4.1 kwh/Nm³, or even as low as 4.0 kwh/Nm³ when the current density is 2500 A/m2.
This means a comparative reduction of DC power consumption by more than 10%. According to LONGi, for every 0.1 kwh/Nm³ reduction in DC power consumption, depending on the number of system utilization hours, the LCOH can be reduced by 1.8%–2.2%, which translates into a reduction of the initial investment of hydrogen production equipment by 10% to 25%.
At the official product launch held in Beijing, LONGi President Li Zhenguo said that solar power has become the world’s most economical clean energy, and that ‘photovoltaic hydrogen production’ is a real ‘dual-clean’ energy solution.
