Hydrogen: Cost-Effective by 2030?

The Hydro Council issued a new report when there is an increase in hydrogen project developments worldwide and high hopes for hydrogen’s position in the energy transition. The council stated that if the existing hydrogen project pipeline is realised, it will exceed US$300 million in investments by 2030.

The study “Hydrogen Insights 2021: A Perspective on Hydrogen Investment, Deployment, and Cost Competitiveness,” co-authored by McKinsey and the council, predicted that total investment in hydrogen projects would reach US$300 billion by 2030 with US$80 billion in mature projects.

However, these estimates are based on the premise that all confirmed projects are completed successfully.

The bulk of this investment comprised 228 large-scale value-chain projects, with 85 per cent of them taking place in Europe, Asia, and Australia. The Hydrogen Council also projected that hydrogen would become the most cost-effective fuel source.

From the report, the council said hydrogen “can become the most competitive low-carbon solution in more than 20 applications by 2030, including long-haul trucking, shipping and steel.”

Another point that the report highlighted was the importance of hydrogen project deployment in clusters. The report further stated that there are three types of clusters, and all are on the increase. 

As Martin Tengler, BloombergNEF’s Lead Hydrogen Analyst, told pv magazine, industrial centres already supporting refining, power generation, fertiliser, and steel production. The second is export hubs in countries rich in solar and wind power plant, and the third is port facilities.

The future hydrogen economy flowing between development hubs in the Middle East, North Africa, South America, and Australia would be free to trade with production sites such as Japan, South Korea, and the European Union if these clusters can be nurtured transitioned.