Green Hydrogen: The Fuel of Future
Green hydrogen is a form of energy that can be used in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, electric vehicles, and power generation. However, its actual use is still limited. Around 120 million tons of hydrogen were produced worldwide in 2019, with two-thirds of that being pure hydrogen and one-third being combined with other gases. Hydrogen is primarily produced for crude oil refining and the creation of ammonia and methanol, which account for almost 75% of the overall demand for pure and mixed hydrogen.
Since the early 2000s, the green hydrogen market has grown significantly, and much of this growth has been attributed to technological advancements in this field. The green hydrogen market ecosystem consists of technology suppliers, green hydrogen producers, and end users.
According to the market intelligence by BIS Research, the global green hydrogen market is expected to reach $4,455.8 million, with a CAGR of 5.13 % during the forecast period 2021–2031. The increased prevalence of green hydrogen in applications such as oil and gas, petrochemicals, electric vehicles, and power generation is anticipated to be the market’s primary driver. Different refining processes such as hydrocracking, hydroisomerization, hydrodealkylation, and hydrodesulfurization are among the primary end users of green hydrogen in the oil and gas sector.
Green hydrogen production is projected to have a multiplier effect on prevailing renewables estimates, which are typically focused on direct electrification and decarbonization rather than ‘indirect’ electrification and decarbonization via hydrogen. Currently, natural gas and coal are the primary sources of hydrogen production, accounting for 99 % of total generation.
Given its potential, hydrogen generation is presently a fossil-fuel-intensive process that will require major scaling up to decarbonize current production. The most popular methods for extracting hydrogen are natural gas reforming, which accounts for about 6% of world natural gas demand, and gasification, which accounts for roughly 2% of total coal production, the majority of which is done in China.
As a result, hydrogen production from power and water via electrolysis is expected to account for as little as 1% of the worldwide hydrogen supply. This situation, however, is about to change as the cost of green hydrogen continues to decline.
Green hydrogen is a particularly appealing alternative for introducing sustainable hydrogen solutions to poor countries because of the modular nature of electrolysis and fuel cells, as well as the widespread availability of zero-carbon renewable energy resources. Green hydrogen is the only known clean energy molecule that can be produced on a large scale and in almost any location on the planet, a feature that no other synthetic green fuel can match.
