Levelized cost of energy from private and social perspectives: The case of improved alkaline water electrolysis

As a case study, we chose the production of hydrogen from advanced alkaline water electrolysis at three different sites in Europe (Germany, Austria, and Spain). The paper shows that the private and social LCH differ strongly. Inclusion of all cost components and comparatively low discount rates provoke highest LCH from social perspective. The main differences in the case study presented here are due to full accounting for environmental costs - with the global warming potential resulting from electricity generation as the main environmental cost source - and due to electricity price projections. Finally, the paper also discusses the sensitivity of LCHs with respect to parameters such as plant lifetime, monetary values of CO2, and tax rates.