Spatial-temporal Analysis of Green Hydrogen Production in Lao PDR

The Government of Laos continues to expand its hydropower fleet, leveraging water resources to increase renewable electricity generation. Electricity exports are crucial for government revenue and poverty alleviation, yet wet season surpluses remain underutilised due to an incomplete cross-border grid and limited domestic demand. Take-or-pay power purchase agreements (PPA) and costly imports in the dry season have contributed to Electricite du Laos USD 5.7 billion debt in 2024. Debt repayment schedules do not align with projected revenues, while planned dams are not optimally located for grid integration. Decarbonised hydrogen production by electrolysis is a government strategy to commercialise surplus electricity, reduce debt, and diversify industry. This study takes a spatial-temporal optimisation approach to identify the least-cost green hydrogen production sites. The model evaluates electrolyser technology, runoff data, time period, and local electricity demand. The results show a minimum levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of USD 3.9/kg of hydrogen by 2030.