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. 2025 Oct 22;12(1):1670.
doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-05951-4.

Clean technology cost projections: investment and levelized costs of solar, wind, battery, and hydrogen

Hadi Vatankhah Ghadim  1 , Jannik Haas  2 , Christian Breyer  3 , Hans Christian Gils  4 , Philip Odonkor  5 , E Grant Read  2 , Mengzhu Xiao  6 , Rebecca Peer  2
Affiliations

Clean technology cost projections: investment and levelized costs of solar, wind, battery, and hydrogen

Hadi Vatankhah Ghadim et al. Sci Data. .

Abstract

Reliable cost projection data is critical for energy system modelling, guiding policy and investment decisions that underpin the global energy transition. In this work, we compile and standardise a broad dataset from over 110 existing regional and global studies to provide an organised and spatio-temporally granular dataset of cost projections for major clean energy technologies. The dataset covers Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) and Levelised Costs of Electricity or Hydrogen (LCOE or LCOH) for utility-scale and rooftop photovoltaics, onshore and offshore wind power, grid-scale Li-ion batteries, concentrated solar thermal power, and large-scale alkaline and PEM electrolysers. The data span national, continental, and global scales, with annual granularity through 2050 and metadata for source type and region. Values under various scenarios are provided to enable risk and uncertainty assessments. This resource supports scenario modelling, investment planning, policy design, and benchmarking in the context of decarbonisation pathways. While the data are drawn entirely from existing sources, the novelty lies in the structured harmonisation, metadata processing, and comprehensive coverage, making it suitable for techno-economic evaluation and robust energy system modelling.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Geographical regions covered in the compiled data provided in this study, and technology diversity in the cost projections provided for each region.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Workflow for the compilation of energy technology cost data.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Illustrated view of the compiled workbook.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
CAPEX projections from different studies for utility-scale PV and onshore wind power technologies in two regions: (a) utility-scale PV in Europe, (b) onshore wind in Europe, (c) utility-scale PV in Asia, and (d) onshore wind in Asia. The black solid line in each subplot represents the historical CAPEX trend for the corresponding technology, and the shaded grey area around it indicates the range of observed historical costs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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