The global hydrogen production market will more than double in the next decade on the back of government sustainability goals.

That’s the verdict of a new report from research firm Frost & Sullivan, which predicts that global hydrogen production will rise from its current 71 million tonnes to 168 million by 2030.

Revenue generation within the market is expected to increase from $177.3 billion in 2020 to $420 billion in 2030.

Countries across the world have started to consider a hydrogen-based economy as the answer to the growing concerns over increasing carbon emissions, energy security, and climate change.

Growth opportunities for market participants will vary considerably, depending on the region:

Australia: With abundant renewable energy resources (RES) and natural gas reserves, the country could efficiently utilise these attributes to become and remain a substantial player in the hydrogen value chain.

China: China has accelerated the development of hydrogen-based technologies and hydrogen infrastructure in recent years after recognising the importance of hydrogen in its transition from a carbon-based to a hydrogen-based economy.

France: Under the new ‘The Hydrogen Plan’, France aims to reach 10% zero-carbon hydrogen adoption for industrial applications by 2023 and 40% by 2028.

Germany: Germany is a global leader in the development of hydrogen and fuel cell (FC) technologies. A majority of the focus on hydrogen technologies, public and private R&D, pilot and demonstration projects is towards strengthening the country’s automotive industry.

India: Despite enormous potential and abundant RES and coal reserves, India is still in its early stages in the adoption of hydrogen technology.

Japan: Japan is heavily investing (through public funding) in R&D related to production, storage, and development of the hydrogen infrastructure for import and utilization across various areas.

UK: In order to meet its net zero-carbon target by 2050, the country should capitalize on its economic growth and abundant RES capacity and scale its hydrogen technology solutions and infrastructure.

US: The country is also likely to become the largest exporter of hydrogen and developer of hydrogen infrastructure across LATAM, Africa and Southeast Asia.

Swagath Navin Manohar, industry analyst, industrial practice at Frost & Sullivan, said: “For the hydrogen economy to become a reality, decisive government actions are required in four key areas.

“Support R&D activities related to technologies involved in the production, storage, transport, and utilization of hydrogen and provide incentives to companies for developing the hydrogen and carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) infrastructure.

“A roadmap towards a hydrogen economy needs to be developed, which addresses the socio-economic barriers inhibiting growth of the technology and mandating policies towards decarbonisation.”

Manohar added: “While the cost of establishing a hydrogen economy will be high, the promises associated with hydrogen – as an important tool in catalyzing the transition towards sustainable energy economy- are huge.

“Although the current application of hydrogen is mainly in the industrial sector, it could be used as a fuel across the mobility, maritime and aviation sectors, and as an energy storage system (ESS) across the power generation sector.”