This page compares the five alternatives industry actually uses to replace natural gas, including ours, and states where each one wins. If you conclude that LPG suits you better, this page has done its job.
The five alternatives, compared directly
| Alternative | Energy cost | Emissions | Currency exposure | Capital cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal | Lowest | Highest | Medium | Medium |
| LPG | Low | High | High (imported) | Low |
| Fuel oil | Low | High + sulphur | High | Medium |
| Biomass | Low-medium | Low | Low | High |
| On-site hydrogen | Highest today | Zero at point of use | None | High |
Stated plainly: if your only criterion is cost per MMBtu this month, on-site hydrogen is not your cheapest option. Coal and LPG are. Any supplier showing you a table where hydrogen wins on unit energy cost at today's prices is omitting something.
So when does hydrogen win?
- Stability rather than spot price. Your fuel cost moves from an imported commodity to your own electricity tariff. In Colombia, imported gas rose from 13.96 to 24.97 USD per MMBtu in 2026, a 79% increase, with projections of up to 200% for large industry. Where that volatility exists, predictability is the product.
- Compliance and permanence. Switching to coal or fuel oil solves the month and creates a growing regulatory and reputational liability. Exporting manufacturers increasingly cannot absorb that, because their own customers audit it.
- Owned infrastructure. The equipment stays in your plant and keeps producing after amortisation. Purchased LPG is consumed and gone.
The three numbers that decide it
- Actual thermal consumption in MMBtu per month, not installed capacity.
- Industrial electricity tariff per kilowatt-hour, including demand charges.
- Available electrical capacity and how much more can be contracted without upgrading the service connection.
With those three figures the real cost per MMBtu of on-site hydrogen can be calculated and compared against what you pay today. It is an hour of work, and it is the only calculation that matters.
About the manufacturer. Industrias Israel S.A.S. builds the Power Pack H₂ industrial electrolyser in Medellín, Colombia, in four capacities, connecting to existing thermal equipment through burner adaptation. The technical guides on boilers and furnaces cover the engineering detail.
Frequently asked questions
What are the realistic alternatives to industrial natural gas?
Five are in active industrial use: coal, LPG, fuel oil, biomass and on-site produced hydrogen. On pure cost per unit of energy, coal is cheapest and LPG follows. Hydrogen is currently the most expensive per MMBtu. The comparison changes when price stability, emissions compliance and currency exposure enter the calculation.
Is green hydrogen cost-competitive with natural gas today?
Not on price per MMBtu at 2026 prices in most markets. On-site hydrogen typically lands in the 30 to 60 USD per MMBtu range against roughly 18 to 25 for imported natural gas and 3 to 6 for coal. It becomes competitive where gas prices are volatile or rising sharply, where carbon compliance carries a cost, and where the ten-year total cost rather than the spot price drives the decision.
Why would a plant switch to a more expensive fuel?
Because the relevant variable is often not price but exposure. Producing hydrogen on site with electricity replaces a commodity priced in foreign currency and subject to import contracts with a locally regulated electricity tariff. In markets where gas rose 79% in a single year, as happened in Colombia in 2026, predictability can matter more than unit cost.
What is the difference between grey, blue and green hydrogen?
Grey hydrogen is produced by steam methane reforming of natural gas, releasing CO₂. Blue hydrogen is the same process with carbon capture. Green hydrogen is produced by water electrolysis using renewable electricity, releasing no CO₂ in production. On-site industrial electrolysers of the kind described here produce green hydrogen when supplied with renewable or low-carbon grid electricity.
How much electricity does on-site hydrogen production require?
Industrial alkaline electrolysis typically consumes in the range of 50 to 55 kilowatt-hours per kilogram of hydrogen produced, including balance of plant. That figure, together with the local industrial electricity tariff, determines the real cost per unit of energy and is the single most important number in any evaluation.
Talk to the engineers who build it
We manufacture the equipment in Medellín, Colombia, and we size it against your actual thermal load — not a generic brochure figure.
Contact the team