October 8, is the national Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day in the US. A great occasion to celebrate it with the latest studies published by the Hydrogen Council: 

1. September 20: Insights 2022
2. October 5: Global Hydrogen Flows

Let’s see what they each cover and how these new insights can contribute to accelerate the Hydrogen momentum.

1. Global Hydrogen Flows: Hydrogen trade as a key enabler for efficient decarbonization

The Global Hydrogen Flows report perspective aims to inform readers on how the supply and demand views from the previous Hydrogen Council reports come together. The model optimizes future hydrogen flows, aiming to minimize overall system costs, an objective that should be pursued by the market participants of the future.

Executive Summary 

• Hydrogen has a central role in helping the world reach net-zero emissions by 2050: hydrogen is critical. Focus on H2 derivatives & international trade is growing. 

• 400 out of the 660 MT of hydrogen needed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 will be transported over long distances with 200 MT crossing international borders - 60% of the total demand 

• Optimised global trade flows have the potential to reduce the transition to hydrogen by $6 trillion, representing a 35% reduction, while also abating 80 gigatons of CO2 by 2050

• In a cost-optimal world, around 50% of trade uses pipelines, while synthetic fuels, ammonia and sponge iron, transported on ships, account for approximately 45%. Europe and countries in the Far East will rely on imports, while North America and China are mostly self-reliant.

• Trade has huge benefits: It can lower the cost of hydrogen supply by 25%, or as much as US$6 trillion of investments from now until 2050. This will accelerate the hydrogen transition, which can abate 80 gigatons of CO2 until 2050.

Find the Global Hydrogen Flows report here and the latest Power Hour by the Hydrogen Council on Global Hydrogen Trade Perspective, on HyTube.

2. Insight 2022

Annually published report by the Hydrogen Council and McKinsey and Company with the relevant updates in regards to the Hydrogen market development and actions required to unlock hydrogen at scale worldwide.

 Executive Summary

• The pipeline of hydrogen projects is continuing to grow, but actual deployment is lagging. 680 large-scale project proposals worth USD 240 billion have been put forward, but only about 10% (USD 22 billion) have reached final investment decision (FID). While Europe leads in proposed investments (~30%), China is slightly ahead in actual deployment of electrolyzers (200 MW), while Japan and South Korea are leading in fuel cells (more than half of the world’s 11 GW manufacturing capacity).
   

• The urgency to invest in mature hydrogen projects today is greater than ever. For the world to be on track for net zero emissions by 2050, investments of some USD 700 billion in hydrogen are needed through 2030 – only 3% of this capital is committed today. Ambition and proposals by themselves do not translate into a positive impact on climate change; investments and implementation on the ground is needed.
   

• Joint action by the public and private sectors is urgently required to move from project proposals to FIDs. Both governments and industry need to act to implement immediate actions for 2022 to 2023 – policymakers need to enable demand visibility, roll out funding support, and ensure international coordination; industry needs to increase supply chain capability and capacity, advance projects towards final investment decision (FID), and develop infrastructure for cross-border trade.