Carbon Intelligence · Beta
Know your project's carbon before anyone asks for it
Lifecycle emissions, carbon intensity and scenario analysis for hydrogen and Power-to-X projects. Every number is calculated from your own project design and traced back to the dataset it came from — including the original value before H2Hub normalised it.
You are looking at an illustrative example, not a real project. Define your project and this page recalculates on your own capacity, location, energy source and product.
Preliminary project-development analysis. Not for construction, permitting or investment reliance without independent professional review.
Carbon snapshot
Lifecycle carbon intensity
3.65kg CO₂e/kg H₂
100 MW at 45% capacity factor over 25 years at 55 kWh/kg.
Operational carbon intensity
2.26kg CO₂e/kg H₂
Electricity, water, auxiliaries and maintenance.
Embodied carbon intensity
1.22kg CO₂e/kg H₂
Equipment and infrastructure manufacturing.
Lifetime project emissions
654,245tCO₂e
Over the modelled project life, excluding end-of-life treatment.
Carbon data completeness
70%
6 gaps in the required inventory.
Carbon confidence
Medium
Each factor's confidence is weighted by its share of total lifecycle emissions, then reduced by the share of the inventory with no reliable data.
Largest carbon driver
Electricity
62% of lifecycle emissions
Largest embodied driver
Solar generation infrastructure
207,000 tCO₂e
Construction + replacement
0.16kg CO₂e/kg H₂
Civil works, construction fuel and stack replacements.
- ·Electricity contributes 62% of lifecycle project emissions.
- ·Operational emissions are 62% of the lifecycle total (2.26 kg CO₂e/kg H₂); everything built or replaced accounts for the remainder.
- ·Electrolyser embodied emissions currently use an engineering proxy because product-specific lifecycle data is unavailable.
- ·Transport contributes less than 3% of lifecycle carbon intensity and is not currently a major carbon driver.
- ·Carbon Data Completeness is 70%. Electrolyser manufacturing data remains the largest data gap.
Carbon contribution
654,245 tCO₂e in the lifecycle view.
| Contributor | Share | Lifetime tCO₂e | kg CO₂e/kg H₂ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 61.8% | 404,055 | 2.255 |
| Solar infrastructure | 31.6% | 207,000 | 1.155 |
| Construction | 2.2% | 14,400 | 0.080 |
| Electrolyzer | 1.9% | 12,496 | 0.070 |
| Civil works | 1.5% | 9,720 | 0.054 |
| Hydrogen storage | 0.4% | 2,669 | 0.015 |
| Transport | 0.2% | 1,320 | 0.007 |
| Electrical equipment | 0.2% | 1,200 | 0.007 |
| Water | 0.2% | 1,018 | 0.006 |
| Compression | 0.1% | 367 | 0.002 |
Carbon hotspots
Ranked by contribution to lifecycle emissions. Open a hotspot to see the assumptions and source data behind it.
- Renewable electricity generationDefaultMedium9,855,000,000 kWh · 404,055 tCO₂e
Lifecycle assumptions
Change any assumption and every number on this page recalculates. Nothing is hidden behind the result.
Inventory, scenarios and trade-offs
Carbon inventory
Component-level lifecycle inventory. Replace any factor with your own supplier value — the model recalculates and the line is marked as your input.
| Component | Stage | Quantity | Factor | Data status | tCO₂e (life) | Your value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renewable electricity generationElectricity · Electricity | Operational | 9,855,000,000kWh | 0.041kgCO2e/kWh | DefaultMedium | 404,055 | ||
| Process water supply and treatmentWater · Water | Operational | 2,508,545.5m³ | 0.35kgCO2e/m3 | VerifiedHigh | 878 | ||
| PEM electrolyser systemEquipment · Electrolyzer | Embodied | 100,000kW installed | 78.1kgCO2e/kW | EstimatedLow | 7,810 | ||
| Electrolyser stack replacementEquipment · Electrolyzer | Replacement | 60,000kW-equivalent | 78.1kgCO2e/kW | EstimatedLow | 4,686 | ||
| Hydrogen compressionEquipment · Compression | Embodied | 6,000kW shaft power | 61.16kgCO2e/kW | EstimatedLow | 367 | ||
| Hydrogen storage vesselsEquipment · Hydrogen storage | Embodied | 39,272.7kg H₂ stored | 67.96kgCO2e/kg | EstimatedLow | 2,669 | ||
| TransformerEquipment · Electrical equipment | Embodied | 100,000kW | 6.8kgCO2e/kW | EstimatedLow | 680 | ||
| Rectifier / power conversionEquipment · Electrical equipment | Embodied | 100,000kW | 5.2kgCO2e/kW | EstimatedLow | 520 | ||
| Water treatment packageEquipment · Water | Embodied | 100,000kW served | 1.4kgCO2e/kW | EstimatedLow | 140 | ||
| Solar generation infrastructureInfrastructure · Solar infrastructure | Embodied | 180,000kW installed | 1,150kgCO2e/kW | DefaultMedium | 207,000 | ||
| Civil works, foundations and slabsMaterials · Civil works | Construction | 100MW installed | 97,200kgCO2e/MW | EstimatedLow | 9,720 | ||
| Construction equipment fuelFuels · Construction | Construction | 4,500,000litres diesel | 3.2kgCO2e/l | VerifiedHigh | 14,400 | ||
| Equipment and material transportLogistics · Transport | Transport | 12,000,000t-km | 0.11kgCO2e/t-km | VerifiedHigh | 1,320 | ||
| End-of-life treatmentMaterials · End of life | End of life | 0— | —no factor | MissingLow | Not counted |
6 required inputs still missing
- Electrolyser manufacturing data — Only an H2Hub engineering estimate is available — product-specific lifecycle data is missing.
- Compression equipment data — Only an H2Hub engineering estimate is available — product-specific lifecycle data is missing.
- Hydrogen storage data — Only an H2Hub engineering estimate is available — product-specific lifecycle data is missing.
- Civil works materials — Only an H2Hub engineering estimate is available — product-specific lifecycle data is missing.
- Replacement equipment — Only an H2Hub engineering estimate is available — product-specific lifecycle data is missing.
- End-of-life treatment — No lifecycle factor available — excluded from the total.
Missing data is never treated as zero. It is excluded from the total and lowers the completeness score.
Scenario comparison
Each scenario is a documented change to the project configuration, recalculated end to end.
| Scenario | Lifecycle | Operational | Embodied | Change | Cost | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base caseEnergy supply | 3.65 | 2.26 | 1.22 | — | Model economics first | Your modelled plant-gate LCOH. |
| Renewable PPA (100%)Energy supply | 1.67 | 1.43 | 0.07 | -54.2% | Model economics first | Contracted renewable power priced 4% above the base supply assumption. |
| Solar + wind (self-build)Energy supply | 2.70 | 1.43 | 1.09 | -26.1% | Model economics first | Hybrid generation raises utilisation, lowering unit cost by 3%. |
| Solar onlyEnergy supply | 3.72 | 2.26 | 1.29 | +1.8% | Model economics first | Lower utilisation from a solar-only profile raises unit cost by 6%. |
| Grid connectedEnergy supply | 21.48 | 21.23 | 0.07 | +488.2% | Model economics first | No generation capex, but grid tariffs and connection charges; net 10% lower unit cost. |
| PEM electrolyserTechnology | 3.65 | 2.26 | 1.22 | 0.0% | Model economics first | Base technology assumption. |
| Alkaline electrolyserTechnology | 3.65 | 2.26 | 1.22 | -0.1% | Model economics first | Lower stack capex, longer stack life; 4% lower unit cost. |
| Freshwater supplyWater | 3.65 | 2.26 | 1.22 | 0.0% | Model economics first | Base water assumption. |
| DesalinationWater | 3.67 | 2.28 | 1.22 | +0.6% | Model economics first | Desalination adds capex and power; 3% higher unit cost. |
| Pipeline transport (50 km)Transport | 3.80 | 2.26 | 1.37 | +4.0% | Model economics first | Pipeline capex amortised over production; 5% higher unit cost. |
| Truck transportTransport | 3.65 | 2.26 | 1.22 | +0.1% | Model economics first | Compressed tube-trailer logistics; 8% higher unit cost. |
| Local steel and equipmentMaterials | 3.65 | 2.26 | 1.22 | -0.1% | Model economics first | Local supply at a 2% price premium. |
| Imported steel and equipmentMaterials | 3.66 | 2.26 | 1.22 | +0.1% | Model economics first | Imported supply at a 2% lower delivered price. |
Lifecycle, operational and embodied intensities are in kg CO₂e/kg H₂. Cost figures adjust your own modelled LCOH by the stated configuration delta — they are a scenario comparison, not a re-run of the economics model.
Cost versus carbon
Where each configuration lands on cost and carbon. Down and to the left is cheaper and cleaner per kg H₂.
Model your project economics first — the cost axis uses your own modelled cost per kilogram.
Carbon reduction options the model finds
Each option is a configuration change that lowered lifecycle carbon intensity when recalculated. Cost effects are stated alongside so a lower-carbon option is never presented as automatically better.
Renewable PPA (100%)
−1.98 kg CO₂e/kg H₂ (54%)
All electricity contracted from a solar–wind PPA instead of self-build or grid. Contracted renewable power priced 4% above the base supply assumption.
Solar + wind (self-build)
−0.95 kg CO₂e/kg H₂ (26%)
Hybrid generation sized to raise the electrolyser capacity factor. Hybrid generation raises utilisation, lowering unit cost by 3%.
Alkaline electrolyser
−0.00 kg CO₂e/kg H₂ (0%)
Alkaline stacks with longer stack life and heavier steel content. Lower stack capex, longer stack life; 4% lower unit cost.
Local steel and equipment
−0.00 kg CO₂e/kg H₂ (0%)
Equipment and steel sourced regionally, cutting freight distance. Local supply at a 2% price premium.
How this is calculated
Lifecycle carbon intensity is total modelled emissions divided by lifetime output. 100 MW at 45% capacity factor over 25 years at 55 kWh/kg.
Included
- Electricity consumed over the project life, split by grid and renewable supply
- Process water supply and treatment
- Embodied carbon of the electrolyser, compression, storage and balance of plant
- Renewable generation and grid infrastructure built for the project
- Civil works and construction energy
- Stack replacements over the project life
- Freight of major equipment and materials
Excluded
- End-of-life treatment, recycling credits and decommissioning
- Non-CO₂e environmental impacts (water scarcity, land use, toxicity)
- Downstream conversion beyond the stated output basis
- Biogenic carbon accounting and offsets
- Certification-scheme rules such as RFNBO or 45V lifecycle accounting
Assumptions used in this result
| Project lifetime | 25 years | H2Hub default |
| Specific energy | 55 kWh/kg H₂ | H2Hub default (system level) |
| Capacity factor | 45% | Screening default |
| Water use | 14 litres/kg H₂ | H2Hub default |
| Stack life | 80,000 h | H2Hub default |
| Grid share of supply | 0% | From project definition |
| End-of-life | Excluded | No reliable dataset loaded |
Preliminary lifecycle screening result, not a certified life-cycle assessment and not an ISO 14040/14044 conformant study. Where manufacturer data is unavailable, H2Hub uses material-composition estimates and labels them as estimates. The original publishers of the source datasets have not reviewed or endorsed this analysis.
Where the lifecycle data comes from
Primary lifecycle inventory data is drawn from the Federal LCA Commons / US Life Cycle Inventory (USLCI), published by the US Department of Agriculture and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Where a required process is not available there, H2Hub uses a documented material-composition estimate and labels the line as an estimate.