(Paris) – Currently, 17 governments have published hydrogen strategies and more than 20 countries have announced that they are working on them. “These efforts are timely,” says the International Energy Agency (IEA). Because the time is ripe to “use the potential contribution of hydrogen to a sustainable energy system”. 
Hydrogen demand was 2020 million tons in 90, virtually all destined for refining and industrial applications and produced almost entirely from fossil fuels, resulting in nearly 900 million tons of CO2 emissions, the new technology report says "Global Hydrogen Review 2021“. Accordingly, the global capacity of electrolyzers has doubled in the last five years and reached just over 2021 megawatts in mid-300. Around 350 projects are currently in development. They could increase global capacity to 2030 gigawatts (GW) by 54, the study found. Another 40 projects with a capacity of more than 35 GW are in the early stages of development.
Europe is a leader in electrolysis capacity
Europe is leading the adoption of electrolyzers, with 40 percent of the world's installed capacity. However, Australia's plans suggested that the country could catch up with Europe in a few years; Large capacities are also expected to be built up in Latin America and the Middle East, especially for exports. China got off to a slow start, but the number of announced projects is increasing quickly and the United States is also increasing its ambitions.
The countries with hydrogen strategies have committed at least $37 billion; the private sector has announced additional investments of $300 billion. However, in order to get the hydrogen sector off the ground, investments of $2030 billion in low-carbon hydrogen supply and use will be required by 1.200, the study says.
The number of FC vehicles is increasing
The cost of fuel cells in motor vehicles has fallen by 2008 percent since 70. In Korea, the USA, China and Japan in particular, the number of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) on the roads has increased more than sixfold from 7.000 in 2017 to over 43.000 by mid-2021. In 2017, according to IEA data, virtually all FCEVs were passenger cars. Today a fifth are buses and trucks, “which indicates a shift to the long-haul segment where hydrogen can better compete with electric vehicles.”
However, the total number of FCEVs is still well below the estimated eleven million electric vehicles on the roads today. Several demonstration projects for the use of hydrogen-based fuels in rail, shipping and aviation are already in development and are expected to open up new opportunities to create hydrogen demand.
Important pillar for decarbonization
“Hydrogen is an important pillar for the decarbonization of industry,” says the report, although most of the technologies that could make an important contribution are still emerging. The world's first Pilot projectt to produce carbon-free steel using low-carbon hydrogen began operations in Sweden this year. There will be one in Spain at the end of 2021 Pilot project to use variable hydrogen from renewable energies for ammonia production. Demonstration projects for the use of hydrogen in industrial applications such as cement, ceramics or glass production are also in development.
Demand must be increased
The focus of most government measures is on the production of low-carbon hydrogen. Japan, Korea, France and the Netherlands have set targets for FCEV deployment. Strengthening the role of low-carbon hydrogen in the clean energy transition requires a gradual increase in demand.
A key obstacle to the widespread use of low-carbon hydrogen is the cost difference compared to producing hydrogen from fossil fuels. Currently, producing hydrogen from fossil fuels is the cheapest option in most parts of the world. Depending on regional natural gas prices, the costs would be between 0,5 and 1,7 dollars per kilogram. Using electricity from renewable energy sources costs three to eight dollars per kilogram. “There is significant scope for reducing production costs through technological innovation and increased deployment,” the authors explain.
The technology report “Global Hydrogen Review 2021” is a result of the cross-national “Clean Energy Ministerial Hydrogen Initiative” (CEM H2I), which is coordinated by the IEA. It aims to inform energy sector stakeholders about the status and future prospects of hydrogen and examines what international progress on hydrogen is needed to help address climate change. The publication will be updated annually in the future.
The IEA report “Global Hydrogen Review 2021“ is available free of charge as a PDF (224 pages).
deep link
https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2021
https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2021/executive-summary
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