By 2050 US green hydrogen might surge to USD1.4 trillion

Date: 2023-06-15 15:05:43

A new report from the Deloitte Center for Sustainable Progress (DCSP) outlines the potential of green hydrogen, or hydrogen fuel produced by renewable energy sources, to meet the demands of heavy industry. “Money is not the problem – though the average annual investment over the time period is significantly less than the $417 billion that was spent on oil and gas production in 2022 globally,” said Bernhard Lorentz, the founding chair of the DCSP. “It’s just a question of redirecting the investment to clean energy sources, and Deloitte sees that the global finance industry has an increasing appetite for major investments.”

The projections come from Deloitte’s Hydrogen Pathway Explorer (HyPE) model, which delivers analysis of the global hydrogen supply. Deloitte’s outlook provides extensive detail into the cost, production, and market of hydrogen, even analyzing the business challenges facing the successful implementation of clean hydrogen, and providing insights into various market dynamics, such as optimal infrastructure sizing, investment needs, and technology choices.

“This analysis reveals a compelling opportunity for private and public leaders to accelerate the green energy transition,” said Joe Ucuzoglu, global chief executive officer of Deloitte. “While wind, solar, and other more traditional forms of renewable power are essential to a net-zero future, Deloitte’s research demonstrates how clean hydrogen can help tackle decarbonization of some of the world’s most emissions intensive and hardest-to-abate sectors, further mitigating the effects of climate change while fueling economic growth, particularly in developing countries.”

Deloitte said that interregional trade and diversified transport infrastructure could become a key driver in green hydrogen development adoption.

“Regions that are currently able to produce cost-competitive hydrogen in quantities that exceed domestic needs are already positioning themselves as future hydrogen exporters – supplying other less-competitive regions and helping to smoothly facilitate the energy transition,” said the report.

Deloitte has also launched the Deloitte Global Hydrogen Center of Excellence, which helps hydrogen developers scale up their businesses through advisory, implementation, and operational guidance services.