Material Techno-EconomicsScenario lab Indicative data
The Water Lab
The energy transition runs on water as well as electrons. See how much a world-scale electrolyser, data centre, cracker or power plant consumes, what it costs, and where water stress becomes the constraint.
Thirstiest asset
Bio-ethylene (irrigated cane)
24.0 million m³/yr
1 GW electrolyser
70k
people's daily water use (150 L/day)
Water cost share
1.00%
of hydrogen value at this price
Annual volume (million m³)
Detail
| Technology | m³ per unit | Million m³/yr | Water cost €m/yr | Share of product value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrolytic hydrogen 1 GW electrolyser · per t H₂ | 25.00 | 3.9 | 6.2 | 1.00% |
| Green ammonia 1 Mt/yr plant · per t NH₃ | 5.00 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 1.33% |
| Green e-methanol 0.5 Mt/yr plant · per t MeOH | 8.00 | 4.0 | 6.4 | 1.83% |
| Steam cracker 1 Mt/yr HVC · per t HVC | 6.00 | 6.0 | 9.6 | 0.96% |
| Bio-ethylene (irrigated cane) 0.2 Mt/yr plant · per t | 120.00 | 24.0 | 38.4 | 13.71% |
| H₂-DRI steel 2 Mt/yr plant · per t steel | 4.00 | 8.0 | 12.8 | 0.98% |
| AI data centre (evaporative) 1 GW IT load · per MWh | 1.80 | 14.4 | 23.0 | n/a |
| Gas power, wet cooling 1 GW plant · per MWh | 0.70 | 3.5 | 5.6 | 1.24% |
| Nuclear, wet cooling 1 GW plant · per MWh | 2.50 | 20.0 | 32.0 | 4.44% |
| Solar PV (panel cleaning) 1 GW plant · per MWh | 0.10 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.27% |
| Onshore wind 1 GW plant · per MWh | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.01% |
Assumptions & sources
Volumes are annual consumption for typical world-scale reference assets.
- Indicative defaults for illustration. Consumption = water withdrawn and not returned.
- Electrolysis: IRENA, Green hydrogen for industry (2022); ≈ 9 L/kg stoichiometric, ≈ 20–30 L/kg including purification and cooling.
- Power-plant cooling: Macknick et al., NREL, Operational water consumption for electricity generating technologies (2012).
- Data centres: industry sustainability reports; evaporative cooling ≈ 1–2 L/kWh.
- Baseline water stress: WRI Aqueduct 4.0 (2023), aggregated regionally.
- Water prices: indicative 2026 industrial tariffs. Desalination ≈ €0.8–1.5/m³.
- Person-equivalent assumes 150 litres per person per day.