[ e-methanol ]
be reduced from 0.8 MWh to 0.5 MWh ( a 37.5 % reduction in energy penalty ).
In addition to the investment , the cost of methanol is strongly influenced by the cost of the feedstocks . To exemplify this impact , a preliminary calculation can be made by assuming feedstock costs . Considering only the acquisition of raw materials and assuming a cost of € 4,000 / ton for hydrogen ( currently in Spain , its cost is around € 4,500 – 5,000 / ton , according to AtlantHy ’ s estimates ) and € 100 / ton for CO 2
, the base cost of methanol would be € 940 / ton of MeOH .
This is the base cost considering only the cost of raw materials , which accounts for about 80 % of the final cost of methanol . In addition to this cost , other operational costs of the plant would have to be included , as well as the amortization of the initial investment ( CAPEX ), resulting in a final cost of methanol ( Levelized Cost of
Methanol , LCOM ) in the range of € 1,000 – 1,200 / ton of MeOH ( three times the current cost of grey methanol ), as shown in studies such as those conducted by IRENA ( Figure 4 ).¹
Thus , although CAPEX has some influence , the main barrier to the production of e-methanol from CO 2 and H 2 is the high cost of raw materials , especially hydrogen produced from water electrolysis , which consumes in the range of 50 – 58 MWh per ton of H 2
( in lowtemperature technologies , PEM and AEL ) as it is an inefficient process that dissipates 20 – 30 % of the input energy as heat . For this reason , reducing the price of renewable energy and increasing the efficiency of electrolyzers is essential to lower the current cost premium . As shown in Figure 5 , elaborated with our models , for every € 20 / MWh reduction in the price of electricity , the cost of hydrogen production is reduced by approximately € 1,000 / ton of H 2
.
7.0
7
6.0
5.8
5.6
6.7
5.0 4.6
LCOH (€/ kg H � )
4.0
3.0
2.0
3.5 3.3
4.4
1.0
0.0 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Electricity price (€/ MWh )
Figure 5 . Levelized cost of hydrogen produced via low-temperature water electrolysis
36 Hydrogen Tech World | Issue 20 | February 2025