Country Targets
Since the pandemic, several European countries have committed significant sums to develop hydrogen technology in a boost to the sector's credibility as a global fuel source. A joint European hydrogen project was launched in December 2020 to pave the way for large-scale projects that cover the full value chain. Several European oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP, are backing new hydrogen projects. Airbus this year unveiled plans for a hydrogen-fuelled airplane by 2035.
The EU has named green hydrogen as a vital technology in the continent's path to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The region is leading electrolyser capacity deployment, with 40% of global installed capacity, and is set to remain the largest market in the near term on the back of the ambitious hydrogen strategies.
The EU has set a 40GW electrolyser capacity target by 2030, producing 10Mtpa of green hydrogen to help achieve its target of a 55% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by decade-end, compared with 1990 levels. This will require a huge ramp up in renewable electricity generation, given that strict EU rules for green hydrogen production require facilities to utilise dedicated renewable generation, or curtailed generation from existing renewables.
The UK, meanwhile, is the only European country with a blue hydrogen strategy as the stepping stone to green hydrogen. It has a target of 5GW of "low-carbon hydrogen" capacity by 2030, on par with Germany and Italy, but behind France's 6.5GW. The target includes a mix of green and blue hydrogen in as-yet unknown quantities. Government analysis suggests that 20-35% of the UK's energy consumption could be hydrogen-based by 2050.
The UK's "twin track" hydrogen strategy, revealed in August 2021, pledges funding for both hydrogen and end-user sectors totalling about GBP900m (US$1.2bn), while ensuring that existing mechanisms for renewable fuels are tweaked to support green hydrogen.
France has allocated EUR7.2bn through 2030 to develop a green hydrogen production capacity of 6.5GW by decade-end. This would prevent 6Mtpa of CO2, roughly the emissions of Paris. France currently uses 900kt of hydrogen, mostly in refineries and the chemical sector, emitting 9Mtpa of CO2.
Meanwhile, Germany has committed EUR9bn to have an installed electrolyser capacity of 5GW to produce 14TWh of green hydrogen by 2030. Another 5GW would come a decade later. Germany has a global market share of 20% in building electrolysers, led by Thyssenkrupp subsidiary Uhde.
Japan is looking to shift its vast industrial base, powered by imported fossil fuels, to hydrogen in one of the world's biggest bets on an energy source. Japan wants hydrogen and ammonia to make up 1% of both the primary energy and electricity supply mix in 2030 to support its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 46% by 2030, compared to 2013 levels. The effort will be supported by the country's JPY2tn (US$19.2bn) green innovation fund to accelerate efforts toward the country's target of being carbon neutral by 2050.
By 2030, Japan also aims to introduce 30% co-burning of hydrogen at gas-fired power plants or mono-burning of hydrogen for power generation as well as introducing 20% co-burning of ammonia at coal-fired power plants.
Japan is focused on expanding its hydrogen market from 2Mtpa today to 3Mtpa by 2030 and 20Mtpa by 2050. The country's mobility targets included 200k fuel-cell vehicles by 2025 and 800k by 2030, as well as 320 fuelling stations by 2025 and 900 by 2030. The government currently subsidises 135 hydrogen refuelling stations around the country, the largest number in the world.
Reducing the cost of hydrogen production is a major agenda for Japan. The work is underway to reduce the cost from about US$1 per cubic meter (Cm) in 2017 to US$0.30/Cm by 2030 and about or below US$0.20/Cm by 2050.
In the US, President Joe Biden's US$1.2tn bipartisan infrastructure bill includes US$8bn to create at least four regional hydrogen hubs to produce the fuel for use in manufacturing, heating and transportation. One hub would demonstrate production from fossil fuels, one would use renewable power, and another would use nuclear power. Coal is also listed a potential source.
The US Department of Energy set a goal this year for hydrogen made with clean power, such as renewables and nuclear energy plants, by 80% to US$1/kg in a decade. "Clean hydrogen is a game changer," US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a June statement. "It will help decarbonize high-polluting heavy-duty and industrial sectors, while delivering good-paying clean energy jobs and realizing a net-zero economy by 2050."