Water for hydrogen production © IRENA 2023Unless otherwise stated, material in this publication may be freely used, shared, copied, reproduced, printed and/or stored, provided that appropriate acknowledgement is given of IRENA as the source and copyright holder. Material in this publication that is attributed to third parties may be subject to separate terms of use and restrictions, and appropriate permissions from these third parties may need to be secured before any use of such material.ISBN: 978-92-9260-526-1CITATION: IRENA and Bluerisk (2023), Water for hydrogen production, International Renewable Energy Agency, Bluerisk, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ABOUT IRENAThe International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future and serves as the principal platform for international co-operation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy, in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. www.irena.orgABOUT BLUERISKBluerisk is a water strategy and data analytics consultancy focused on enhancing resilience and reducing risk in the face of emerging water challenges.www.blueriskintel.comACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe report was developed under the guidance of Ute Collier acting-Director, IRENA Knowledge Policy and Finance Centre and authored by Emanuele Bianco (IRENA), Tianyi Luo (Bluerisk), and Divyam Nagpal (ex-IRENA). IRENA colleagues Ann-Kathrin Lipponer, Luis Janeiro and Francisco Boshell provided valuable input. Aneta Cornell (Ecolab), Lorenzo Rosa (Stanford University), Chao Zhang and Yinshuang Xia (Tongji University), provided technical contributions to the report. Marina Melnikova and Yury Melnikov (Mylonastars) provided useful contributions and observations. The report benefited from the reviews and comments of experts, including Alistair Wyness, Rachael Raid (BP), Nitin Bassi (CEEW), Yu Zhang, Ziyan Sha (China Hydrogen Energy Industry Promotion Association), Cristian Carraretto, Roberto Gonzales (EBRD), Aneta Cornell, Emilio Tenuta (Ecolab), Massimo Santarelli (Polytechnic University of Turin), Alejandro Longueira (Roland Berger) and Smeeta Fokeer (UNIDO).Publication support was provided by Francis Field and Stephanie Clarke (IRENA). The report was edited by Fayre Makeig, with design provided by Elkanodata.For further information or to provide feedback: publications@irena.orgDISCLAIMERThis publication and the material herein are provided “as is”. All reasonable precautions have been taken by IRENA to verify the reliability of the material in this publication. However, neither IRENA nor any of its officials, agents, data or other third-party content providers provides a warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, and they accept no responsibility or liability for any consequence of use of the publication or material herein.The information contained herein does not necessarily represent the views of all Members of IRENA. The mention of specific companies or certain projects or products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by IRENA in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The designations employed and the presentation of material herein do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of IRENA concerning the legal status of any region, country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Table of contentsGlossary 5 Executive summary 6 Chapter 1 Introduction to the hydrogen-water nexus 14 Chapter 2 A review of water quantity requirements in commercial-scale hydrogen production 21 Chapter 3 Water footprint and risks of global hydrogen production 32 Chapter 4 Deep-dive analyses of northern China, the Gulf and Europe 42 Chapter 5 Conclusions and Recommendations 54 References 59 Appendix 63 FiguresFigure S1 A comparison of average water withdrawal and consumption intensities by hydrogen production technologyFigure S2 Current and projected freshwater withdrawal for global hydrogen production, by pathwayFigure 2.1 Schematics of process-specific water withdrawal and consumption in litres for typical hydrogen technologies to generate 1 kilogramme of hydrogen Figure 2.2 Share of the w