Development of a strategic site selection framework for the green hydrogen economy: The example of Germany

• Site selection for green hydrogen at the zip code area level for the example of Germany. • Energy and water availabilities plus power and gas grid connections as ratings criteria. • 28 sites proposed for 10 GW of installed capacity for electrolysis. Green hydrogen is becoming increasingly important for the deep decarbonization of future energy systems, particularly for long-term storage applications and hard-to-electrify sectors. Despite the existence of numerous political roadmaps outlining individual capacity targets to promote green hydrogen production by electrolysis, the optimal method by which decision-makers can locate and scale electrolyzers remains ambiguous. The objective of this study is to develop a strategic, multi-indicator site selection framework to assess the suitability of areas for the large-scale implementation of green hydrogen production sites. The framework considers four indicators: i) the availability of renewable energy; ii) the availability of water; iii) the connection to the power grid; and iv) the connection to the gas grid (as a proxy for hydrogen transport capacity in the future). The efficacy of the framework is illustrated through a case study of Germany, with a spatial resolution of zip code areas. The authors identified 28 zip code areas, primarily in the northeastern region of the country, to achieve its political objective of domestic green hydrogen production while taking into account the conditions set out by European Union regulations for green hydrogen. Of the identified zip code areas, six were found to offer robust solutions across framework parameters and reflect no-regret options for fostering the national green hydrogen economy immediately.