LCOH calculator
What does green hydrogen cost per kilogram? Slide the operating hours, set your electricity price and energy mix, or pull solar and wind data for your site from NASA. Public EU defaults, validated against the European Hydrogen Observatory.
1Technology & operation
Preset: European Hydrogen Observatory defaults (reference year 2024).2Your site: NASA solar & wind data
Fetches the 2001–2020 climatology for these coordinates directly from NASA POWER (your browser contacts power.larc.nasa.gov).
Data: NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) POWER Project, funded through the NASA Earth Science/Applied Science Program. Capacity factors: PV fixed optimal tilt (+15 % vs horizontal), performance ratio 0.82, DC/AC ratio 1.3; modern onshore turbine (rated at 10 m/s, 135 m hub), Rayleigh wind distribution, 12 % losses. Electrolyser hours = CF × 1.25 (PV) or × 1.11 (wind) × 8,760, as in the EHO method; calibrated to the EHO default hours (e.g. Malta PV 2,759 h, Ireland wind 4,915 h).
3Energy mix
Blended power cost: €50.0/MWh. Shares are normalised to 100 %.
4Stack physics
Energy use follows from the cell voltage (2 F per mole of H₂). Current density sets how much hydrogen each cell makes and how many stacks the plant needs; CAPEX per kW is kept constant.
Advanced settings: cost, financing, efficiency (public defaults)
Financing
Plant cost & stack
Electricity & efficiency
Newer EHO electrolyser-cost data (2025, 100 MW): PEM €2,196/kW, alkaline €2,075/kW.
Levelised cost of hydrogen · PEM
€6.44/kg H₂
≈ €193 per MWh of hydrogen (LHV) · 4,000 h/yr at €50/MWh
Checked against the European Hydrogen Observatory LCOH calculator (within 0.2 %)
- 1,431t/yrhydrogen output
- 55.9kWh/kglifetime-average energy use
- 43%of LCOH is electricity
Cost breakdown
- Capital (CAPEX × CRF)€2.74
- Other OPEX€0.70
- Stack replacement€0.21
- Electricity€2.80
- Grid fees & taxes€0.00
PEM anode iridium at the 25 Sep 2026 price: ≈ €301/kW (12 % of CAPEX, 1.3 g/kW). Iridium calculator →
Marker = your current inputs. The curve flattens once the investment is spread over enough hours; small steps mark one more stack replacement within the lifetime.
- –power density
- –per cell
- –per stack
- –H₂ per stack
- –system energy use
Where the electricity goes (LHV basis): hydrogen, stack heat (voltage above 1.25 V), conversion and auxiliaries.
lcoh at a glance
Levelised cost of hydrogen in € per kg for a PEM electrolyser by operating hours and power price (EHO default assumptions, 6 % WACC, 25 years, no grid fees).
| h/yr ↓ · €/MWh → | €20/MWh | €35/MWh | €50/MWh | €70/MWh | €100/MWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000 h | €7.98 | €8.81 | €9.65 | €10.77 | €12.44 |
| 3,000 h | €5.97 | €6.81 | €7.65 | €8.77 | €10.44 |
| 4,000 h | €4.76 | €5.60 | €6.44 | €7.56 | €9.24 |
| 6,000 h | €3.70 | €4.54 | €5.38 | €6.50 | €8.18 |
| 8,000 h | €3.16 | €4.00 | €4.85 | €5.97 | €7.65 |
Highlighted: the calculator default. Screening tool for comparing scenarios, not a CENmat price or offer.
faq
What is the levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH)?
LCOH is the average cost of producing one kilogram of hydrogen over the life of a plant: the annualised investment plus operating, stack replacement and electricity costs, divided by the hydrogen produced. It is the standard metric used by the IEA, IRENA and the European Hydrogen Observatory to compare projects.
Which default values does this calculator use?
Only public values: electrolyser CAPEX, other OPEX, stack replacement cost, durability, degradation, energy use, 6 % cost of capital and 25-year lifetime are the defaults of the European Hydrogen Observatory LCOH calculator (Hydrogen Europe, reference year 2024). Solar and wind power costs are IRENA 2023 global averages. The AEM preset uses industry benchmarks (Clean Hydrogen JU / IRENA); the CENmat HYScale preset uses 2 A/cm² at 2.0 V and a system CAPEX of €400/kW. You can change every value.
Is the calculation validated?
Yes. With the European Hydrogen Observatory’s own inputs, the tool reproduces the LCOH of the published EHO use cases within 0.2 % (details under “Method and sources” on this page). It uses the same method: CAPEX annualised with the capital recovery factor, stack replacements and other OPEX as a share of CAPEX, and energy use averaged over the stack degradation cycle.
Why do operating hours matter so much?
The investment has to be paid back from every kilogram produced. At few operating hours, capital cost per kg rises steeply; above roughly 4,000–5,000 hours the electricity price dominates. Move the slider to see where the curve flattens for your inputs.
How does the NASA button estimate full-load hours?
It requests the 2001–2020 annual average solar irradiance and 50 m wind speed for your coordinates from the free NASA POWER API, converts them into a solar PV and onshore wind capacity factor (fixed-tilt PV with 1.3 DC/AC ratio; modern 135 m turbine), and assumes the electrolyser is sized below the renewable plant (as in the EHO method: ×1.25 for PV, ×1.11 for wind). The assumptions are calibrated so that NASA data reproduce the EHO’s default hours for Malta PV, Spain PV and Irish onshore wind within about 5 %. It is a screening estimate, not a yield assessment.
Does the result include iridium?
For PEM, iridium is part of the stack cost within CAPEX. The panel shows how much of the CAPEX the anode iridium represents at the dated reference price. Use the iridium calculator to compare loadings, including ultra-low-iridium OXYGN (PEM) and iridium-free AEM.
Lower the stack cost side of the equation. CENmat develops iridium-free AEM stacks (HYScale), PFAS-free AionFLX™ membranes and ultra-low-iridium OXYGN (PEM) catalysts. Talk to us or try the iridium calculator.
Method & sources
formulas, default assumptions, references
How it is calculated
Same method as the EHO calculator manual: CAPEX annualised with the capital recovery factor; other OPEX and stack replacements as a share of CAPEX (replacements = lifetime hours ÷ stack durability, rounded down); energy use averaged over each stack life with linear degradation; grid fees and taxes on grid electricity only. With the EHO’s published inputs the tool reproduces its use cases within 0.2 %.
At the defaults (PEM, 4,000 h/yr, €50/MWh, 6 % WACC, 25 years): CRF 0.0782, 1 stack replacement, 55.9 kWh/kg on average → €6.44/kg (capital €2.74, other OPEX €0.70, stack €0.21, electricity €2.80).
Default assumptions
| Parameter | PEM | Alkaline | AEM | CENmat HYScale | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPEX (20 MW) | €2,503/kW | €2,310/kW | €2,300/kW | €400/kW | EHO (ref. 2024) [1]; AEM [8]; HYScale |
| Energy use (beginning of life) | 53.3 kWh/kg | 52.4 kWh/kg | 53.0 kWh/kg | 56.1 kWh/kg | EHO [1]; IEA [3]; AEM [8]; HYScale: from 2.0 V |
| Stack durability · degradation | 60,000 h · 0.19 %/1000 h | 80,000 h · 0.12 %/1000 h | 15,000 h · 0.9 %/1000 h | 15,000 h · 0.9 %/1000 h | EHO [1]; AEM [4], [8] |
| Stack replacement · other OPEX | 15 % of CAPEX per replacement · 2 % of CAPEX per year | EHO [1] | |||
| Cost of capital · lifetime | 6 % · 25 years | EHO [1] | |||
| Operating hours (grid) | 4,000 h/yr (cheapest hours of the year) | EHO [1] | |||
| Solar PV / onshore wind power cost | €41 / €31 per MWh | IRENA 2024 [5] | |||
| Current density · cell voltage | 2 A/cm² · 1.90 V | 0.4 A/cm² · 1.87 V | 0.6 A/cm² · 1.89 V | 2 A/cm² · 2.00 V | IRENA 2020 [4]; AEM [8]; HYScale |
| PEM iridium loading · price | 1.3 g/kW · US$8,200/oz (25 Sep 2026) | – | – | – | IRENA 2020 [4]; Umicore [7] |
Sources
- European Hydrogen Observatory: LCOH calculator, manual (2025), use cases 1, 2, 4, 8
- EHO: Electrolyser cost 2025
- IEA: Global Hydrogen Review 2025
- IRENA: Green Hydrogen Cost Reduction (2020), Tables 6–7
- IRENA: Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023
- NASA LaRC POWER Project: Climatology API (NASA Earth Science/Applied Science Program)
- Iridium: Umicore, 25 Sep 2026; ECB euro reference rate, 25 Sep 2026
- Clean Hydrogen JU: SRIA 2021–2027, technology KPIs for AEM electrolysis (2024 column)
AEM: industry benchmarks (Clean Hydrogen JU / IRENA). Current density, energy use and degradation follow the SRIA KPIs [8]; the SRIA AEM capital cost (€550/kW) sits between the SRIA PEM (€700/kW) and alkaline (€480/kW) values and is mapped onto the EHO installed-cost basis via both (≈ €2,300/kW); stack durability after IRENA 2020 [4]. CENmat HYScale: 2 A/cm² at 2.0 V and a system CAPEX of €400/kW; other OPEX, stack replacement, durability and degradation as the AEM benchmark. CAPEX definitions differ between sources: the EHO values are installed project costs including land, grid fees, permitting, EPC management and contingency.