Posted on 25 Sep 2023
China is leading the way in electrolyser investments and plans, but a large international gap between current output and manufacturing capacities could hamper future clean energy goals.
The International Energy Agency’s Global Hydrogen Review 2023 report found that global installed electrolyser capacity could surpass 420 gigawatts by 2030, so long as every announced project is realised. China commissioned a few larger-capacity electrolysers over the years and has more than 550 megawatts of projects under construction, but cross-border collaboration will be key to meeting 2030 and 2050 Net-Zero Emission Scenario targets.
The IEA says since its last review, more than 3.8 GW of electrolyser projects have reached final investment decisions (FID) or started construction. This is attributed to green hydrogen efforts in Saudi Arabia and China, as well as a project in Oman with a planned capacity of 3.5 GW.
Additionally, the US’ Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit led to 9 GW of electrolyser projects, though even more projects will be needed to bridge the manufacturing capacity gap.
Attaining net-zero emissions by 2050 will also require an additional 25m t/y of new green hydrogen and 8m t/y of blue hydrogen to be produced globally, Kallanish notes. Based on announced projects, the US could account for 4m t of blue hydrogen production by 2030.
Europe is expected to follow closely, reaching 3m t through projects in the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Norway. Between blue and green hydrogen, the IEA says Europe “could account for around 40% of low-emission production by 2030.”
Spain, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands facilitate nearly 55% of all electrolytic hydrogen production in Europe, according to the report. Meanwhile, Australia could produce close to 6m t of green hydrogen by 2030.
The report also found that based on announced projects, green hydrogen production in Latin America could grow to 6m t by 2030. Chile will produce 45% of green hydrogen from announced LatAm projects, while Brazil and Argentina represent 30% of the planned green energy production.
Meanwhile, blue hydrogen production capacity could increase to roughly 9m t/y by 2030 if all announced projects are realised; however, this still falls short of the 17m t needed by then to meet net-zero standards.
Source:Kallanish
