Electrolysers the first step toward green hydrogen production

Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are associated with the hydrogen market, but IDTechEx says this is a tiny portion of the overall hydrogen market.

“In fact, to use hydrogen in fuel cells and industrial applications, it is necessary to produce hydrogen cost-effectively,” it says in a new report Green Hydrogen Production: Electrolyzer Markets 2021-2031, which suggests hydrogen could be a multi-billion market in 10 years.

Hydrogen’s strong potential is driven by the fact that it is impossible to electrify some of the most polluting sectors, including the steel, ammonia, and glass industries, the report adds.

In these sectors, hydrogen will be produced from renewable energy employing electrolyser systems. Although still in its early stage, the electrolyser market found strong support from government institutions, particularly from the EU parliament, and the European ‘Green Deal’ has highlighted the importance hydrogen will play in the future economy.

 Following the ‘Green Deal’ announcement, many European countries plan hydrogen strategies to promote the adoption, and the 2x40GW project is pushing the adoption of electrolyser systems with 20-billion euro investments.

The IDTechEx report addresses the different technologies involved, market players, and most important end-user applications, showing the next adopters of electrolysers.

 

With a fast-growing market with a CAGR of 48% between 2021 and 2031, IDTechEx forecasts a multi-billion market in 2031.

Australia, Chile, Japan, South Korea, and Canada are some of the countries deeply involved in hydrogen development.

Although each country presents a specific roadmap for hydrogen adoption, the industries which will benefit from the adoption of hydrogen will all be the same.

Nowadays, hydrogen is mostly used for ammonia production and refinery products, with the remaining 20% of the market addressed by other sectors like energy storage, automotive, and methanol production.

Due to the higher cost of the green hydrogen produced by the electrolysers, strong financial support to this industry is required, IDTechEx says.

Alkaline (AWE), PEM (PEMEL), and solid oxide (SOEL) electrolysers are the future of green hydrogen production, only if renewable electricity is employed.

The report says while the alkaline systems have dominated the scene for the last 100 years, over the past two decades the PEMEL and SOEL systems started populating the hydrogen market with innovative and more efficient technologies to produce hydrogen.