Global green hydrogen production to Reach 5.7M tonnes by 2030, powered by decarbonization

(PRNewsfoto/Frost & Sullivan)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Advances in Green Hydrogen Create Opportunity across the Global Power Sector, forecasts that global green hydrogen production will skyrocket at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57% between 2019 and 2030, rising from 40,000 tons to 5.7 million tons.

Increasing concerns about carbon emissions and the need to decarbonize the industrial, commercial, transport, and power sectors have forced countries to reduce their dependency on fossil fuel-based systems and increase investments across alternate low-carbon technologies, including green hydrogen.

“The total decarbonization of certain sectors like transportation and power cannot be achieved solely by electrification. This challenge can be addressed by green hydrogen produced through electrolysis from RES (renewable energy sources), wind and solar, in particular,” said Swagath Navin Manohar, industry analyst, in a prepared statement. “Green hydrogen produced through electrolysis can then be used downstream as a chemical feedstock material in carbon-intensive sectors that are difficult to decarbonize through electrification alone. Currently, green hydrogen accounts for less than 1% of the total hydrogen produced. The global demand for green hydrogen and its emerging applications is expected to increase exponentially in the next 20 years, creating the need for considerable infrastructure to handle production and delivery.”

Manohar added: “In the last five years, interest has grown in using green hydrogen as a low- or zero-carbon energy carrier. Many governments, including UK, Germany, Japan, and Singapore, have started acknowledging the fact that a green hydrogen-based economy could be the answer to growing concerns over carbon emissions, energy security, and climate change. Technological institutions in various countries  have already invested in pilot and demonstration projects related to the production, storage, distribution, and utilization of green hydrogen across different business verticals. For a green hydrogen economy to become a reality, technological and economical breakthroughs are needed to bring down the costs associated with production, while a decisive regulatory framework is required to promote investments and support research and development (R&D) in the sector.”

For further revenue opportunities, market participants should explore these strategic recommendations:

• Countries need to step up their green hydrogen strategies and invest in pilot and demonstration projects for Power-to-X (PtX) technologies. Additionally, strong collaborations and partnerships are needed to scale up the technology.
• European countries and the US should add green hydrogen to natural gas mixtures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increase the integration of RES into the energy mix, increase the efficiency of the system, and help decarbonize the electricity, heat, industry, and transport sectors.
• Fuel cell companies should develop small, modular fuel cell power systems that can be customized to meet the needs of rural/remote communities or critical infrastructure facilities.
• Combined heat and power (CHP) fuel cell manufacturing companies should address concerns over their cost, reliability, and decreased efficiency to outperform their main competitors—lithium-ion energy storage system providers—and achieve competitive advantage.