Hydrogen Market - Industry Dynamics, Market Size, And Opportunity Forecast To 2027

Global Hydrogen Market is estimated to witness a rise in revenue from US$ 194,899.0 Million in 2021 to US$ 286,789.2 Million by 2027. The market is registering a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Moreover, in terms of volume, the market is projected to grow at the CAGR of 6.1% over the forecast period. 

Hydrogen is the lightest element and can be stored by converting it into the form of liquid by decreasing the temperature of the hydrogen at a constant pressure to obtain the liquid phase. Moreover, the use of hydrogen as chemical storage, energy carrier, and feedstock for industrial production can substantially reduce GHG emissions in hard-to-abate sectors. Based on greenhouse gas emissions, the hydrogen production process is classified as grey, blue, brown or green hydrogen. 

Global Hydrogen Production Roadmaps

• China

China, currently the world’s biggest hydrogen supplier- 25M Tons annually announces to make ‘Hydrogen Valley’.  The China Hydrogen Alliance, a government supported industry group launched in 2018, forecasts China’s hydrogen demand to reach 35 Mt by 2030 and 60 Mt by 2050.

• U.S.

California announced to invest US$ 230 Million on hydrogen projects by 2023. Also, the world’s largest green hydrogen plant is being built in order to produce green hydrogen by using 42,000 tons of recycled paper waste annually.

• Australia

Under Desert Bloom hydrogen project, 2 MW hydrogen production units (HPUs) is being planned which will generate water, heat, electricity and hydrogen. This large-scale hydrogen plant will comprise around 4,000 HPUs if everything goes in a planned manner.

Overview of Hydrogen Storage 

There are physical-based hydrogen storage and material-based hydrogen storage. The physical-based hydrogen storage consists of compressed gas, cold/cryo compressed and liquid hydrogen. Whereas, the material-based hydrogen storage, consists of absorbent, liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC), metal hydrides and ammonia. 

Key Insights of the Report: 

• Latest study published by Astute Analytica analyses the Global Hydrogen Market for the study period of 2017-2027; where historical years are 2017-2020, base year is 2021 and forecast period is 2022-2027.
• The research report offers detailed study of market determinants including market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and trends; along with attractive presentation in the form of impact analysis to gain a simpler and easy comparison view of all market determinants.
• The research study is a compilation of 23 chapters distributed across 429 pages with 130 list of tables and 167 list of figures.
• The market estimates are presented in terms of value (US$ Mn) and volume (Tons).
• Along with market estimations, the market study was conducted on the basis of various economic models such as PESTLE and Porter’s five force models.
• Detailed value chain analysis of the industry was conducted. It includes hydrogen production, hydrogen storage and distribution and end users.
• Competitive dashboard section includes analysis on the basis of Concentration Ratio (CR), based on market size and market presence of key companies.

Market Dynamics and Trends- Demand Side

Factors such as decrease in the cost of solar PV and wind energy electricity and global shift towards reduction in carbon emission drives the growth in the market over the forecast period. Solar energy is one of the most promising energy sources due to the advantage of high availability, considerable amount of energy-saving and carbon emission reduction. In addition, increased investment in R&D sector by countries in order to increase hydrogen production provides a lucrative growth trend in the hydrogen market. However, high cost of production of green hydrogen through electrolysis is one of the major constraints in the overall demand of hydrogen around the world.

Market Dynamics and Trends- Supply Side

The major factor responsible for the growth of the Global hydrogen market includes rise in the iron, steel, ammonia and other value chemicals production and rise in the Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) technology. Ammonia plays an excellent transition fuel within the energy sector, as it contains hydrogen that can be used in fuel cells. Moreover, SRM is the most cost effective and efficient way of producing high grey hydrogen. Furthermore, increasing use of hydrogen for powering EV vehicles creates a significant growth trend in the market as they only emit water vapor and warm air. However, strict procurement policies by government restrict the market growth as uncertainty is an inseparable part of hydrogen supply chain network. 

Market Analysis

Global Hydrogen Market Insights by Technology

Based on technology, the global hydrogen market is segmented into thermal process and electrolytic process. The thermal process segment is anticipated to grow at the largest share in the hydrogen market over the forecast period. Steam reforming, a high-temperature process in which steam combines with hydrocarbon fuel to produce hydrogen, is a common thermal technique for hydrogen production. Furthermore, electrolytic process segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period as hydrogen produced by electrolysis can result in zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Global Hydrogen Market Insights by Application

Based on application, the global hydrogen market is segmented into methanol production, ammonia production, petroleum refinery, heat treatment, transportation, power generation, renewable energy, hydrogen fuel cell and others. The ammonia production segment holds the largest market share in 2021 as most current nitrogen-based fertilizers start with ammonia. Ammonia production is applied at a larger scale due to its potential as a carbon-free fuel, hydrogen carrier, and energy store, renewable hydrogen technologies. Moreover, hydrogen fuel cell segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR over the forecast period as hydrogen used in fuel cells has the energy to weight ratio ten times greater than lithium-ion batteries.

Global Hydrogen Market Insights by Delivery Mode

Based on delivery mode, the global hydrogen market is segmented into captive and merchant. The merchant segment dominated the hydrogen market in 2021. More than 80% of merchant hydrogen is sold to refineries for the purposes of hydrocracking, ultra-low-sulfur diesel hydrotreating, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC), feed (gas oil) hydrotreating, and naphtha hydrotreating. Furthermore, captive segment is expected to project the highest CAGR over the forecast period. 

Global Hydrogen Market Insights by Region

Asia Pacific holds the largest share in the hydrogen market in 2021 due to the presence of large number of refineries in key APAC countries such as China and India. Whereas North America is anticipated to hold the highest CAGR of 7.7% over the forecast period. The sector has grown swiftly as a result of contributions from each application and technology. In the United States, the use of hydrogen in the production of methanol and ammonia is quickly growing.

Competitive Insight

Global Hydrogen Market is highly competitive in order to increase their presence in the marketplace. Some of the key players operating in the market includes Air Liquide International S.A., Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Hydrogenics, Linde plc, NEL Hydrogen, Showa Denko, Iwatani CO, Messer Group GmbH, Teledyne Technologies Inc., Claind, Cummins, HyTech Power, Inox, ITM Power, PowerTap and Weldstar, Inc. among others.

Segmentation Overview 

Global Hydrogen Market is segmented based on technology, application, delivery mode and region. The industry trends in the global hydrogen market are sub-divided into different categories in order to get a holistic view of the global marketplace. 

Following are the different segments of the Global Hydrogen Market:

By Technology segment of the Global Hydrogen Market is sub-segmented into:

• Thermal Process
  • Steam Methane Reforming (SMR)
  • Partial Oxidation (POX)
  • Coal Gasification
  • Biomass Gasification
• Electrolytic Process
  • SOEC
  • SOFC
  • PEM
• Others

By Application segment of the Global Hydrogen Market is sub-segmented into:

• Methanol Production
• Ammonia Production
• Petroleum Refinery
• Heat Treatment
• Transportation
• Power Generation
• Renewable Energy
• Hydrogen Fuel Cell
  • Fuel Cell Vehicles
  • Fuel Cell Ships
  • Fuel Cell Battery
  • Mobile Power Generation
• Others

By Delivery Mode segment of the Global Hydrogen Market is sub-segmented into:

• Captive
• Merchant

By Region segment of the Global Hydrogen Market is sub-segmented into:

• North America
  • The U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • The UK
  • Germany
  • France
  • Norway
  • The Netherlands
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Australia
  • South Korea
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• Rest of the World
  • Middle East & Africa (MEA)
  • Latin America