Renewable hydrogen systems for a sustainable heavy-duty mobility: The Italian case

This study offers a detailed economic and technical assessment of renewable hydrogen production , storage, and utilisation for heavy-duty transport in Italy. To achieve the initial targets set by the national hydrogen strategy for 2030, the heavy-duty fleet will require 3.6 GW of variable renewables, 1 GW of electrolyzers. The findings reveal that the Levelized Cost of renewable hydrogen varies based on system configurations, the mix of variable renewables, and electricity market zones. Specifically, hydrogen cost ranges from 7.5 €/kgH2 for grid-connected plants in market zones with high renewable electricity share, to 18.6 €/kgH2 for hydrogen plants connected to solar photovoltaic in the Northern zone. The South of Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia are the most suitable and cost effective zones for hydrogen production . However, low local demand projection necessitate network infrastructure investments to enable zonal transfer and prevent congestion risks.