The “Net-Zero Hydrogen Report” is released: By 2025, hydrogen energy could cumulatively reduce emissions by 80 billion tons.
2021-11-29
Recently, the International Hydrogen Council, in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, released the “Net-Zero Hydrogen Report” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”). The Report points out that hydrogen plays a pivotal role in achieving net-zero emissions and limiting global warming to 1.5°C, and by 2050, it could cumulatively reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80 billion tons—accounting for 20% of the total emission reductions needed.
The report analyzes that by 2050, China will become the world’s largest hydrogen market, followed by Europe and North America. Together, these three regions will account for approximately 60% of global hydrogen demand.
The report outlines a realistic and feasible pathway to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and examines the role that clean hydrogen can play in the energy transition from now until 2050. It not only identifies hydrogen’s potential long-term contributions but also details the measures that need to be taken over the next decade to help realize the 2050 net-zero target.
On the application side, hydrogen is crucial for decarbonizing industries—including as a feedstock for steel and chemical production—as well as long-distance transportation—such as fuel for heavy-duty trucks, intercity buses, and trains—international shipping—such as fuel for maritime and aviation transport—and heat supply—such as high-quality industrial thermal energy—and power generation—such as dispatchable power generation and backup power sources.
Over the next decade—from now until 2030—rapidly scaling up hydrogen production is critical to ultimately achieving the net-zero target by 2050. To this end, global deployment of clean hydrogen must reach 75 million tons by 2030. This supply could replace 25 million tons of gray hydrogen currently used in ammonia, methanol, and chemical refining; 50 billion liters of diesel fuel used in land transportation; and 60 million tons of coal used in steel production.
Meanwhile, scaling up is key to reducing the cost of hydrogen. To meet the above-mentioned demand at the lowest possible cost, it will be necessary to deploy 200–250 gigawatts of electrolyzers, 300–400 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, and hydrogen production facilities capable of producing 45–55 million tons of low-carbon hydrogen.
The report points out that achieving these goals will require joint efforts from both governments and businesses, including the adoption of robust policies (such as enacting relevant legislation and implementing appropriate carbon pricing), large-scale infrastructure development, and minimizing risks associated with initial investments. By 2030, the use of clean hydrogen is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 730 million tons annually.
Moreover, although hydrogen investment is currently gaining strong momentum, there remains a significant gap to close in order to achieve net-zero targets. To meet these targets, the report points out that investments will need to be scaled up to US$700 billion by 2030—US$300 billion for hydrogen supply, US$200 billion for infrastructure development, and US$200 billion for end-use applications. Consequently, the current investment gap stands at as much as US$540 billion.
Over the past year, as hydrogen applications across various sectors and hydrogen-related projects have grown rapidly, an increasing number of countries and regions have come to recognize hydrogen’s critical importance and significant contribution to decarbonization. However, current efforts still fall far short of what is needed. To limit global warming to between 1.5°C and 1.8°C by 2050, we must accelerate the deployment of hydrogen projects at a rate five times faster than today.
To this end, the Report calls for measures and actions from three key areas in order to unlock hydrogen’s potential for emissions reduction: stimulating demand for hydrogen applications across various sectors, developing infrastructure to ensure hydrogen’s end-use, and accelerating the large-scale deployment of hydrogen to make it cost-competitive.
Source: China Science Daily
Author: Li Huiyu
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