Sourcing Renewables  -  November 11, 2020

Hydrogen power gains ground across global economies

Hydrogen production is growing in popularity around the world and could more than double to reach 168 million tons globally by 2030, a new study found.

Frost & Sullivan released its “Growth Opportunities in the Hydrogen Market for the Global Power Sector” report, which found that countries around the world have begun to seek out a hydrogen-based economy as an answer to increasing carbon emissions, energy security and climate change. Hydrogen production reached 71 million tons and produced $177.3 billion in revenue in 2020, while revenue is projected to reach $420 billion in 2030.

The report detailed France’s new “The Hydrogen Plan,” which aims to reach 10% zero-carbon hydrogen adoption for industrial applications by 2023 and 40% by 2028. China has also accelerated its use of hydrogen-based technologies, while Germany is focusing on the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in the public and private R&D sectors.

It is estimated that the United States could become the largest exporter of hydrogen and developer of hydrogen infrastructure across LATAM, Africa and Southeast Asia, while Australia could leverage its abundant natural gas reserves and renewable energy resources to become a substantial player in the hydrogen value chain. These countries would need to invest in the proper R&D in order to achieve their potential in rising hydrogen generation.

“For the hydrogen economy to become a reality, decisive government actions are required in four key areas,” Swagath Navin Manohar, Industry Analyst of Industrial Practice at Frost & Sullivan, said in a statement. “Support R&D activities related to technologies involved in the production, storage, transport, and utilization of hydrogen and provide incentives to companies for developing the hydrogen and carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) infrastructure. A roadmap towards a hydrogen economy needs to be developed, which addresses the socio-economic barriers inhibiting the growth of the technology and mandating policies towards decarbonization.”

Manohar also added that, while hydrogen is now primarily used in the industrial sector, it could eventually be used as fuel across the mobility, maritime and aviation sectors and as an energy storage system in power generation.

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