New hydrogen projects achieve record numbers globally with even greater urgency for final investment decisions to attain net zero

  • Hydrogen Council releases its state of the industry report, Hydrogen Insights 2022, on the hydrogen imperative for the global energy transition
  • 680 large-scale projects announced globally reflecting investments of US$ 240 billion until 2030, an increase of 50% since November 2021
  • US$22 billion, or 10% of proposed investments, have reached FID, are under construction, or are already operational
  • Real deployment of hydrogen is growing (e.g. 80% increase in installed electrolyzers), and must continue to scale
  • Investment proposals must triple to US$700 billion until 2030 in order to achieve the global 2050 net zero target
  • Both policymakers and industry need to step up to deliver on hydrogen net-zero

BRUSSELS, September 20, 2022 – The urgency to ramp up investment in industrial-scale hydrogen energy projects is greater than ever, says a new report published today by the Hydrogen Council.

Developed in collaboration with global consultancy McKinsey & Company, the report, Hydrogen Insights 2022, highlights 680 large-scale* hydrogen project proposals have been announced, totaling US$240 billion in direct investment between now and 2030 – an increase of 50% since November 2021 alone.

With this substantial uptake in hydrogen energy project announcements, the next step by industry, investors and governments is to quickly ramp up final investment decisions (FIDs) in order to jump start project construction and operations as quickly as possible.

Yoshinori Kanehana, Chairman of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Co-Chair of the Hydrogen Council, said, “With the growing concerns around energy security, it is clear our economies need hydrogen. But on-the-ground deployment is not moving fast enough and needs to accelerate to realize the benefits of hydrogen. This report proposes a series of priority actions for both policymakers and industry to overcome the challenges and accelerate large-scale hydrogen deployment.

“In addition, the report helps us understand the current state of the global hydrogen economy by highlighting what’s really happening in terms of deployment, financing and investment, as well as offering predictions for the future.”

Tom Linebarger, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Cummins Inc. and Co-Chair of the Hydrogen Council, said of the report, “Climate change is the existential crisis of our time, and it will require businesses and governments working together to address it and we must do more now. To move to a zero emissions future, we must have multiple solutions available for our customers who require vastly different applications around the world and hydrogen will play a critically important role.”

Capturing the maximum climate value of hydrogen to deliver the 2050 net zero carbon emissions target requires a tripling of investments in hydrogen projects by 2030 to US$700 billion, equivalent to an additional US$460 billion, the report explains.

The Council report goes on to note that the 2030 hydrogen investment figure is equivalent to less than 15% of investment committed to upstream oil and gas over the past decade.

To meet the planet’s commitment to positively impact climate change, the study makes clear that a rapid increase in hydrogen project investment and on-the-ground deployment is required.

Joint action by the public and private sectors is urgently needed to move from project proposals to FIDs.

Hydrogen Insights 2022 sets out mutually reinforcing priority actions both for policymakers and for industry across 2022 to 2023.

The full 2022 report is available here.

Notes to Editors
* ‘Large-scale’ is defined as projects larger than 1 MW of electrolysis or equivalent.

About the Report
Authored by the Hydrogen Council with McKinsey and Company, Hydrogen Insights 2022 provides the latest fact-based outlook on hydrogen deployment around the world, with the objective to guide regulatory and investment decision-making to scale up the hydrogen energy ecosystem.

The updated data in the report is built on the Hydrogen Insights 2021 report by the Hydrogen Council and McKinsey & Company.

About The Hydrogen Council
The Hydrogen Council is a global CEO-led initiative that brings together leading companies with a united vision and long-term ambition for hydrogen to foster the clean energy transition. The Council understands that hydrogen has a key role to play in reaching global decarbonization goals by helping to diversify energy sources worldwide, to foster business and technological innovation as drivers for long-term economic growth, and to decarbonize especially hard-to-abate industrial sectors.

To find out more visit www.hydrogencouncil.com and folow us on Twitter @HydrogenCouncil and LinkedIn. 

Media Enquiries
Joanna Sampson, Communications Manager
joanna.sampson@hydrogencouncil.com

Hydrogen Insights 2022

Authored by the Hydrogen Council in collaboration with McKinsey and Company, Hydrogen Insights 2022 presents an updated perspective on hydrogen market development and actions required to unlock hydrogen at scale.

The pipeline of hydrogen projects is continuing to grow, but actual deployment is lagging.

680 large-scale project proposals worth USD 240 billion have been put forward, but only about 10% (USD 22 billion) have reached final investment decision (FID). While Europe leads in proposed investments (~30%), China is slightly ahead on actual deployment of electrolyzers (200 MW), while Japan and South Korea are leading in fuel cells (more than half of the world’s 11 GW manufacturing capacity).

The urgency to invest in mature hydrogen projects today is greater than ever.

For the world to be on track for net zero emissions by 2050, investments of some USD 700 billion in hydrogen are needed through 2030 – only 3% of this capital is committed today. Ambition and proposals by themselves do not translate into positive impact on climate change; investments and implementation on the ground is needed.

Joint action by the public and private sectors is urgently required to move from project proposals to FIDs.

Both governments and industry need to act to implement immediate actions for 2022 to 2023 – policymakers need to enable demand visibility, roll out funding support, and ensure international coordination; industry needs to increase supply chain capability and capacity, advance projects towards final investment decision (FID), and develop infrastructure for cross-border trade.

View and download the full report here.
Read the press release here.

Want to have the most up-to-date hydrogen market data and insights?
This report is accompanied by Hydrogen Insights, a paid subscription-based platform that will provide a regularly updated, global perspective on hydrogen investment momentum, market development, and cost competitiveness. The paid service is available for non-members of the Hydrogen Council. To subscribe and for more information, contact the Secretariat – secretariat@hydrogencouncil.com.