According to a recent report by PwC’s Strategy & Middle East, global demand for green hydrogen will reach about 530 million tons by 2050, replacing about 10.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent (about 37% of global oil production before the outbreak).
Meanwhile, the report shows that by 2050, the annual value of green hydrogen export market may reach 300 billion US dollars, which will create 400000 jobs for global renewable energy and hydrogen production, and become one of the forces for global employment recovery.
At present, the rapid decline of renewable energy costs and technological progress will make hydrogen the first choice for global transportation of cheap and clean energy. The popularity of covid-19 is also accelerating the trend of decarbonization.
While other countries are also seeking investment in green hydrogen, the export prospects of GCC member states are constrained by large domestic demand that could consume most of their production, the report said. GCC member states can export green hydrogen by increasing production and promoting domestic industrial development.
“The GCC countries need to take decisive action to capture this market through a three-stage plan.” Dr. raed kombargi, partner of strategy & Middle East, believes that commercial scale pilot projects should be carried out in cooperation with leading electrolytic operators. At the same time, it is necessary to formulate corresponding policies and regulations to promote the development of domestic market. Moreover, the necessary export infrastructure needs to be established to ensure supply agreements with major export markets.
In fact, not long ago, Canada was working with other countries to develop a national hydrogen strategic plan.
Canada is seeking to identify opportunities for clean hydrogen production and optimizing end use in the economy as a whole in the short, medium and long term, and to identify export market potential for Canada’s clean hydrogen, hydrogen and fuel cell technology services, the Ministry of natural resources said.
It is reported that Canada’s national hydrogen strategy is expected to be released in the next six to eight weeks.
This is partly because a citizen survey conducted in Canada in 2017 found that a low-carbon future is important for Canadians. This led to a subsequent report by the Canadian power generation energy commission, which identified hydrogen as “particularly important as a source of fuel and its potential role in energy storage applications”.
As a means to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to achieve climate goals, many countries in the world are developing national hydrogen strategies. Hydrogen is expected to play an important role in decarbonization of transportation systems.
Most importantly, hydrogen can also replace fossil fuels in power generation and the production of materials such as steel and cement.
Prior to this, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand have issued national hydrogen strategies.
It is said that the European Commission will submit a plan to formulate the EU hydrogen strategy on June 24.