Hydrogen: Feedstocks

Gas sets the cost of grey; power sets green

What this tab covers What it is made from and what it feeds: the raw materials and energy per tonne with their share of cost (linked to the commodity table), who is low-cost and why, and the chemicals made from it.

Hydrogen is made from natural gas, coal, or water plus electricity. Gas sets the cost floor for most of the world, so gas price decides whether a plant is competitive. For green hydrogen, electricity is 60-70% of cost, so the cheapest producers will be those with high-capacity-factor solar and wind and cheap capital.

Inputs per tonne

Input	Quantity per tonne	Role	Share of cost	Source
Gas Natural gas	about 150-170 MMBtu per t H2 including fuel (indicative)	feedstock and fuel	about 60-80% of grey hydrogen cash cost (indicative)	IEA GHR 2025 (290 bcm used); indicative
Tc Thermal coal	about 7-8 t coal per t H2 (indicative)	feedstock via gasification (mainly China)	about 40-50% (indicative)	IEA GHR 2025 (90 Mtce used); indicative
Electricity	about 50-55 MWh per t H2 for electrolysis	water splitting	about 60-70% of green hydrogen cost (indicative)	indicative
Water	9 t (stoichiometric) to about 15-20 t with treatment and cooling	hydrogen source in SMR and electrolysis	under 2%	stoichiometry; indicative

Who is low-cost, and why

US Gulf Coast and Middle East SMRs on $2-4/MMBtu gas make hydrogen near $1/kg. Europe and LNG-importing Asia pay $2-3/kg when gas is $10-15/MMBtu. Chinese coal gasifiers sit around $1-2/kg. Green hydrogen in India's 2025 tenders cleared at $4.4-4.6/kg.

Raw materials on the commodity table

Gas Natural gas Tc Thermal coal H₂O Water

What it is made into

Product	Note
NH3 Ammonia	about a third of hydrogen goes here
MeOH Methanol	about a sixth of hydrogen
eF Low-carbon hydrogen and e-fuels	ammonia, methanol and LOHC for export
HVO Renewable diesel and SAF	hydrotreating of vegetable oils and fats
H2O2 Hydrogen peroxide	made by the anthraquinone process from hydrogen