Market Overview:

The Global Hydrogen Generation Market Was Valued At $160.0 Billion In 2022 And Is Projected To Reach $355.64 Billion By 2030, Growing At A CAGR Of 10.5% From 2022 To 2030.

Hydrogen, or H2, is an element that can catch fire and has no smell. It is found in nature in many different forms. The chemical element is usually found in the atmosphere as a gas, and it can also be made as a product or byproduct of other processes. Aside from that, hydrogen is also used a lot as a clean fuel alternative to make electricity and move cars. The H2 fuel is often used in fuel cell devices because it cuts down on harmful emissions and only gives off water vapor and heat. Also, companies that make FCs, like Nuvera Fuel Cells, LLC and Ballard Power Systems, are always trying to come up with more advanced systems that can be used in a wide range of applications. Also, different ways, like steam methane reforming and electrolysis, are used by the industry as a whole to make H2 to meet the growing needs of many applications.

Hydrogen is an important part of both the oil and gas industry and the chemical industry. Three types of hydrogen are made from the different ways to get hydrogen: blue hydrogen, grey hydrogen, and green hydrogen. Grey hydrogen is hydrogen that is made from fossil fuels without a process to capture and store carbon. Also, this kind of hydrogen has a side effect of putting carbon dioxide into the environment.

Blue hydrogen is a term used in the business world to describe hydrogen made from natural gas and supported by capturing and storing carbon. During the manufacturing process, the CO2 that is made is captured and stored underground. The result is hydrogen with less carbon and no CO2. People often say that blue hydrogen is a low-carbon fuel that can be used to make electricity, store energy, power cars, trucks, trains, and heat buildings.

Hydrogen that is made from renewable energy or low-carbon power is called "green hydrogen." Green hydrogen has a lot less carbon pollution than grey hydrogen, which is made by reforming natural gas with steam. Grey hydrogen is the most common type of hydrogen on the market. Green hydrogen can help get rid of carbon emissions in industries like shipping and transportation, where it can be used as a fuel, and in manufacturing industries like steel and chemicals, where it can be used as both a fuel and an important raw material.

COVID-19 Impact:

The sudden spread of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or new coronavirus from China to the rest of the world has hurt the economy. To stop the virus from spreading, governments have put in place strict rules like national and state lockdowns, limits on international travel, and social distance rules. These rules have hurt the financial health of countries. In order to stop the spread of infection from person to person, all industrial facilities, manufacturing plants, and road transportation have stopped working.

So, the pandemic has also had an effect on the global hydrogen generation market, which has seen a drop in demand and cash flow problems among small players and customers. But many governments have announced plans to take advantage of the low carbon pollution caused by the shutdown of industrial and transportation sectors to increase the demand for clean fuel alternatives like hydrogen in a world after COVID. For example, the government of Japan gave the hydrogen industry an extra COVID-19 stimulus package of over USD 19 billion in December 2020. This was a new fund. The money will likely help green projects get started over the next ten years, and the goal is to get H2-powered planes and cargo ships on the road so that hydrogen can be used as a reliable power source.

Market Dynamics:

Market Trends:

• Transition to Clean Energy Power to Propel the Market Growth

As cities and factories keep growing, countries have had to use different ways to make power to keep up with demand. There are also development programs in places where the number of people is growing quickly, such as the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region. Concerns about using renewable energy sources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels like crude oil and natural gas are becoming more and more important in the global economy. For example, BP's Statistical Review of World Energy 2020, which came out in June 2020, says that the total amount of energy used in the Asia-Pacific region rose from about 249.4 exajoules in 2018 to about 257.6 exajoules in 2019. So, this factor is what drives the CAGR of the market.

Also, as the number of people grows, the demand for food will go up by two times. Intense farming, techniques that protect crops, and the best ways to manage fertilizer will all be needed to boost agricultural production to meet this growing demand. Nitrogen fertilizers will be used to take care of fertilizers. Ammonia is one of the most important parts of nitrogen fertilizers, and ammonium nitrate is the best form. As the world's population grows, there will be a huge demand for agricultural products, which will require better ways to manage fertilization. Because of how much more ammonia is needed to make these systems, the market will grow.

Decarbonization also means that the carbon footprint of primary energy is getting smaller and smaller over time. Decarbonizing the world's energy system is one of the biggest problems we face right now. This has led to a rise in demand for green energy technology and cleaner energy sources like hydrogen. This is good for the growth of the industry that makes hydrogen. Also, the industry is growing a lot because the government is doing good things to reduce carbon footprints. Since hydrogen is a clean energy fuel, it is expected that it will eventually make us less dependent on oil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. Hydrogen can be made in huge amounts from almost all types of energy sources, such as biomass, wind, solar, nuclear, and clean fossil fuels. So, the hydrogen that is made can be used to make electricity, which will help the new energy system meet both supply and demand.

• Reduction in Fuel Cell Prices

Due to more money being put into research and development, the cost of fuel cell technology has been going down. The main changes that led to these costs staying almost the same are less Pt loading on the anode, higher costs for bipolar plate formation and welding (based on feedback from OEMs), and changes to the gas diffusion layers (as per OEM feedback).

As the cost of making fuel cell systems goes down, there will be more uses for them in many different areas. This rise in the number of uses for fuel cells will make more people want to buy hydrogen gas, which will help the market grow.

Driving Factors:

• The Growing Demand for Fertilizers

With the rise in population, people will need twice as much food. To increase agricultural production and meet this growing demand, farmers will need to use intensive farming, crop protection methods, and the best ways to manage fertilizers.

Nitrogen fertilizers will be used to manage the fertilizers. Ammonia is a big part of nitrogen fertilizers, and ammonium nitrate is the most popular form. With the world's population growing, there will be a huge need for agricultural products, so better ways to manage fertilizer will be needed. This means that more ammonia will be needed to make these systems, which will help the market grow.

• Extensive Research and Development (R&D) to Develop Green Hydrogen Production Technologies

Most of the hydrogen that is made is used by companies that refine oil and make fertilizer. 99% of hydrogen comes from reforming fossil fuels, which is the most common and cost-effective way to make hydrogen. But because it gives off CO2, it is not good for the environment. Electrolysis is used to make green hydrogen. Electrolysis is the way that green hydrogen is made, since it uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen without releasing any carbon. Decarbonizing the earth is one of the goals that different countries have set for 2050. One of the most important ways to reach this goal is to make green hydrogen, which is made from elements like hydrogen. This is because green hydrogen is now responsible for more than 2% of all CO2 emissions in the world. For example, the European Union (EU) came out with a unique hydrogen policy in 2020. This policy combines different programs to help the fast growth of green hydrogen generation capacities. Florida Power & Light wants to have a 20 MW green hydrogen plant running by the year 2023. FP&L's Okeechobee gas-fired plant, which makes 1.75 gigawatts, will use this hydrogen in a 20% mix.

• Collaboration Activities Among Industry Players to Drive the Market Growth

A lot of people at different stages of the industry are trying to broaden their horizons and start up new generation industries. Also, agreements to work together to make green H2 fuel using technologies with no emissions are likely to help the global hydrogen generation market grow. For example, plug power Inc. announced in March 2021 that it would work with different parts of Brookfield Renewable Partners to build a green hydrogen plant in Pennsylvania, U.S. The new facility will make H2 from 100% renewable sources. It will make about 15 metric tons of liquid hydrogen every day to help the logistics and transportation industries get rid of carbon emissions. Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2022, and operations are expected to start later that same year.

• Vast Deployment of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles to Boost the Technology’s Demand

This market is likely to grow as the number of people who want fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) like cars, buses, trucks, and other heavy-duty cars keeps going up. FCEVs have a fuel cell device built in, and they use hydrogen as their main fuel, so they don't put out any harmful emissions. Also, the number of FCEVs on the road has grown a lot because many governments have set huge goals for putting FCEVs on the road. For instance, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in June 2020 that South Korea plans to use about 81,000 FCEVs by 2022 and 2.9 million vehicles by 2040.

Restraints:

• Substantial Production Costs coupled with High Energy Consuming Generation Technologies

H2 fuel is made for sale using different technologies that require a lot of money to set up and run the plants. This slows the pace of the global market. Also, it costs a lot of money to make hydrogen through methods like water electrolysis, which use a lot of energy because they need more electricity to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.

• High Capital Cost of Hydrogen Energy Storage

Hydrogen can be stored in high-pressure containers as a compressed gas, a liquid at -253° C, or as a chemical by reacting with or absorbing metal compounds or other chemicals. Hydrogen can be used to store electricity through the process of electrolysis. To make electricity, hydrogen is used. But at the moment, the round-trip productivity is lower than that of other storage technologies. Still, people are becoming more interested in hydrogen energy storage because it can hold more energy than batteries.

At the moment, it costs more to store energy as hydrogen than as fossil fuels. Gaseous hydrogen is less dense than liquid hydrogen. Liquid hydrogen needs to be "liquefied," which requires a complex mechanical plant and adds to the cost. Hydrogen storage is taking the place of physical hydrogen storage, in which hydrogen is stored in solids on surfaces. So, all of these things make it hard for the market to grow.

• Energy Loss in Value Chain

Hydrogen is a man-made source of energy. It moves the energy that is made in different ways. When electricity is passed through water, hydrogen is made. But high-quality electrical energy is also used to compress, liquefy, transport, transfer, or store the medium, in addition to making hydrogen. In order to make hydrogen, you need energy. The amount of energy put in should ideally be the same as the amount of energy in the synthetic gas. Any way to make hydrogen, like electrolysis or reforming, involves changing the energy in some way. The energy of electricity or the energy of hydrocarbons is changed into the chemical energy of hydrogen. Energy is always lost when making hydrogen, which is a shame.

At every step of the value chain for making hydrogen, energy is lost. Around 30% of the energy needed for electrolysis is lost during the production stage. When energy is changed into other forms, 10–25% of it is lost. Green hydrogen needs energy to get to where it needs to go, either as fuel for cars or as energy from pipes. When hydrogen is used in fuel cells, more energy is lost.

Opportunities:

• Rising Focus on Achieving Net Zero Emission Target by 2050

Under the net zero emissions scenario, the way hydrogen is made changes in a way that has never happened before. When the world's production of H2 hits 200 Mt in 2030, 70% of that will come from low-carbon technologies (electrolysis). By 2050, the amount of hydrogen made will have gone up to about 500 Mt H2. This is almost entirely because of technologies that use less carbon. To change the energy system so that there are no net emissions by 2050, different technologies will be needed. For decarbonizing the world's energy system, the main pillars are likely to be energy efficiency, changing people's habits, going electric, renewable energy, hydrogen and fuels based on hydrogen, and carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS).

In the net-zero-emissions scenario, strong growth in the demand for hydrogen and the use of cleaner technologies to make it will allow hydrogen and fuels based on hydrogen to stop up to 60 Gt of CO2 emissions from happening between 2021 and 2050. This is 6.5% of all emissions reductions. Using hydrogen fuel is especially important for cutting emissions in hard-to-decarbonize industries like heavy industries (especially steel and chemical), heavy-duty road transport, shipping, and aviation, where direct electrification is hard.

• Favourable Government Policies Encouraging Electric Vehicles

Hydrogen fuel cells are used as batteries to power electric cars. Using electric cars cuts down on carbon emissions, which leads to less pollution in the air and, to some extent, less use of fossil fuels that are running out quickly. To encourage people to buy electric cars, different governments are offering different policies and subsidies to customers and manufacturers.

For example, all over the world, governments are building public infrastructure and putting in place electric public transportation. Also, the high demand for electric cars drives up the demand for hydrogen, which in turn drives the demand for electrolyzers. So, all of these things could be good for the growth of the industry during the time period predicted.

Challenges:

• High Costs Associated with Production of Green Hydrogen

Green hydrogen comes from renewable sources or power with low carbon emissions. Green hydrogen can help industries and sectors that use a lot of energy and are hard to decarbonize, like steel, chemicals, transportation, shipping, and aviation, reach net-zero CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions. But the cost of making it must go down so that all countries can afford it. Blue hydrogen costs twice as much as green hydrogen because it is made from fossil fuels and carbon capture and storage (CCUS).

CCUS is still the best way to make hydrogen without a lot of carbon emissions, and it's likely to stay that way because it's cheaper to make than other low-carbon methods like water electrolysis. Electrolysis is an old technology that has been used for a long time in some industrial processes, such as the Chlor-alkali process, which makes chlorine. Making hydrogen on purpose isn't used by a lot of people yet. At the moment, electrolysis is the only way to make hydrogen. Each year, 30 kt of hydrogen are made this way, which is about 0.03% of all hydrogen made. The level is low because it costs more to make electrolytic hydrogen (USD 3–8/kg H2) than it does to make it from fossil fuels (USD 0.5–1.7/kg H2).

• Competition from Alternative Technologies

The market for fuel cell technology is very competitive. Alternative technologies like solar energy, batteries, and internal combustion engines are giving a lot of local and international companies a hard time in the market (ICEs). These technologies are already well-known, which makes it hard for fuel cells to catch on with more people.

For example, batteries are used in a wide range of industrial, commercial, and home settings as a backup power source. They are also used a lot in the transportation and communications industries. It has made it harder to use fuel cells to power light-duty vehicles, such as auxiliary power units (APUs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the military and in business. Fuel cell technology is still behind other renewable technologies, and batteries have a huge market because they come in different sizes and power ranges. This makes it hard to start a similar, competitive business based on fuel cells.

Strategic Development:

• In March 2022 - Air Products Inc. said that they would build and run a new green liquid hydrogen plant in Casa Grande, Arizona. It will be a liquid hydrogen plant with no carbon emissions, and it will be on the market by 2023.
• In January 2022 - Linde plc and Yara made a deal to build and deliver a 24 MW green hydrogen plant.
• In March 2021 - Brookfield Renewable Partners and Plug Power, Inc. made a deal to work together to build a hydrogen plant in the US. This plant plans to make about 15 metric tons of liquid hydrogen every day from 100 percent renewable resources. This will reduce the amount of carbon it puts into the air.
• In September 2019 - Cummins Inc. will buy Hydrogenics Corporation, a company that makes technology for fuel cells and making hydrogen. With this purchase, Cummins will be able to try new things and grow in the field of making hydrogen.
• In September 2022 - KUBOTA Corporation teamed up with Denyo Co., Ltd. to build H2 generators using its hydrogen engines. The goal of the research and development project is to make Denyo's dedicated generator more fuel-efficient and easier to move around.
• In August 2022 - General Motors came up with a radical plan to use portable hydrogen generators to power electric cars in remote areas. The company wants to use its HYDROTEC technology to make portable systems that can power electric cars with clean electricity. The new idea will give remote places like Australia a good way to get power, and it will also make it possible to get power to all the places that need it.
• In November 2021 - Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology made a new kind of hydrogen generator that can make ultra-pure hydrogen right where it is needed. The advanced system is made in India and is easy to set up at gas stations. It uses methanol and membrane technology to make ultra-high-purity hydrogen on-site. The new ideas have made it possible for highly efficient units to be built all over the region.

Key Vendors:

On the global hydrogen generator market, there are a lot of different players who work at different points in the supply chain at different levels. The market players are also putting a lot of emphasis on improving the quality and efficiency of the power generation while increasing its capacity. Also, the companies are putting a lot of effort into making partnerships to increase production and develop technologies that use less carbon.

Air Liquide, a company that makes and sells industrial gases and is based in France, is also working to improve its H2 production so that it can help with decarbonization programs for energy uses. For example, in February 2021, the company signed an agreement with Siemens Energy to set up a large-scale electrolyzer production unit and a research and development facility for advanced electrolyzer technologies. The goal of the collaboration is to build a 200-MW electrolyzer facility in Normandy, France, that can be used to make hydrogen in a sustainable way.

• Air Liquide (France)

Industrial gases and equipment are made by Air Liquide France Industrie. The company sells oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, ultra pure gases, air liquid, burners, injection devices, and generators. Customers in France are served by Air Liquide France Industries.

• Iwatani Corporation (Japan)

Iwatani Corp. (Iwatani) is involved in many different businesses, such as energy, industrial gas and machinery, materials, and agricultural products. The company sells liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, fuel cells, heat pumps, tanks for ships and boats, and electric cooking appliances for homes. It sells a variety of air separation gases, industrial gases, devices for making semiconductors, welding products, and equipment for protecting the environment.

• Hydrogenics (Canada)

Hydrogenics Corporation designs, develops, and makes systems for making hydrogen, storing it, and using it in fuel cells. The company designs and builds its systems for use by consumers, businesses, and the military.

• Messer Group (Germany)

Messer is the biggest company in the world that specializes in industrial, medical, and specialty gases that is privately owned. Messer's Gases for Life are used in industry, protecting the environment, medicine, the food industry, welding and cutting technology, 3D printing, construction, research, and science. As a global company, Messer has products and services that are good for the environment in Europe, Asia, and the United States. More than 10,000 employees* work well together because they respect each other and value their differences.

• Showa Denko K.K. (Japan)

Showa Denko K.K. and Showa Denko Materials Co Ltd (formerly Hitachi Chemical Co Ltd) merged and became two new companies: Resonac Holdings Corporation, which is a holding company, and Resonac Corporation, which is a manufacturing company. The company makes materials for electronics, mobility, high-performance materials, Olefins and derivatives, basic chemicals, graphite, device solutions, and life sciences. The main office of Resonac Corporation is in Minato-ku, which is in Tokyo, Japan.

• Linde (UK)

Linde is a world leader in industrial gases and engineering, and it is expected to make $33 billion in sales in 2022. The mission is to make the world more productive by giving the customers high-quality solutions, technologies, and services that help them be more successful and help protect, sustain, and decarbonize our planet.

• Epoch Energy Technology Corporation (Taiwan)

Most of what Epoch Energy Technology Corp. does is research, develop, and make new-energy facilities. Hydrogen, oxygen, and solar energy are all types of new energy.

Segmentation Analysis:

The market is segmented on the basis of source, technology, application and region.

By Source:

The Generation of Hydrogen Blue Hydrogen, Green Hydrogen, and Grey Hydrogen are the three sources that have been used to divide the market. The blue hydrogen segment led the growth of the market in 2021, and it is expected to be the segment with the fastest growth from 2022 to 2030. It has the best chance of being a commercial success because it is easy to make, there are no input shocks, and it can be changed to work with technologies already used in chemical plants, oil refineries, and other parts of the economy. Since these industries have spent a lot on their physical infrastructure in the past, blue hydrogen has become a more important part of business strategy.

• Blue Hydrogen
• Green Hydrogen
• Grey Hydrogen

By Technology:

Depending on the technology used, the Hydrogen Generation Market is divided into four parts: steam methane reforming (SMR), partial oxidation (POX), coal gasification, and electrolysis. The steam methane reforming (SMR) segment had the most revenue in the hydrogen generation market in 2021, and it is expected to be the segment with the fastest growth from 2022 to 2030. Since steam methane reforming is the best way to make hydrogen, the growing need for hydrogen generation around the world is a big reason why steam methane reformers are being made. Other reasons for the growth of the market include operational advantages like the high conversion efficiency of the steam methane reforming method.

• Steam Methane Reforming (SMR)
• Partial Oxidation (POX)
• Coal Gasification
• Electrolysis

By Application Outlook:

The Hydrogen Generation Market data is divided into groups based on where the hydrogen is used. These groups are Petroleum Refinery, Ammonia Production, Methanol Production, Transportation, Power Generation, and Other Applications. In terms of revenue, the ammonia production segment led the hydrogen generation market in 2021, and it is expected to be the segment with the fastest growth from 2022 to 2030. Renewable hydrogen technology could be used more often if ammonia could be used as a carbon-free fuel, hydrogen carrier, and energy store. Usually, fossil fuels are used as a feedstock at ammonia plants to make hydrogen.

• Petroleum Refinery
• Ammonia Production
• Methanol Production
• Transportation
• Power Generation
• Other Applications

Regional Insights:

Geographically, the market has been looked at in five key areas, including Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. In 2020, the Asia-Pacific market was worth US$50.27 billion and is expected to lead the market over the next few years. Some of the main things that are driving the regional outlook are good government policies, big goals for fuel cell vehicles, rising energy demand, and more investments in hydrogen refueling infrastructure. For example, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) updated the national hydrogen strategy in March 2019 to put 200,000 FCEVs on the road by 2025 and 800,000 by 2030.

The North American market size is growing because more and more organizations are trying to switch to cleaner fuels as their main source of energy. Also, the regional government has its own research and development programs to help the activities and uses of hydrogen. For example, the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has started the Hydrogen Program to help with H2 production, infrastructure, delivery, storage, and other uses in stationary, industrial, and transportation sectors.

Europe's countries also spend a lot of money to increase their ability to make hydrogen and meet the strict goals for reducing carbon emissions that are changing the region. Europe has seen a big increase in the number of hydrogen-powered cars, a rise in energy demand, and a boost in the development of hydrogen infrastructure. For example, the French government released its national hydrogen strategy in September 2020. Its goal is to increase the amount of hydrogen that can be made to 6.5 GW and bring in about EUR 7.2 billion in investments by 2030.

• North America
• US
• Canada
• Mexico
• Rest of North America
• Europe
• Germany
• France
• Italy
• Spain
• UK
• Nordic Countries
• Denmark
• Finland
• Iceland
• Sweden
• Norway
• Benelux Union
• Belgium
• The Netherlands
• Luxembourg
• Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Japan
• China
• India
• Australia
• South Korea
• Southeast Asia
• Indonesia
• Thailand
• Malaysia
• Singapore
• Rest of Southeast Asia
• Rest of Asia-Pacific
• The Middle East & Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Egypt
• South Africa
• Rest of the Middle East & Africa
• Latin America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Rest of Latin America

Scope of Report:

Conclusion:

• This report gives a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimates, and dynamics of the hydrogen generation market from 2021 to 2031 to find the best opportunities in the hydrogen generation market.
• The market research includes information about the most important drivers, barriers, and opportunities.
• The current market opportunities can be found by doing a thorough analysis of how the hydrogen generation market is split up.
• Market player positioning makes benchmarking easier and gives a clear picture of where the market players are now.
• The report looks at the trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and growth strategies of the regional and global hydrogen generation markets.