Despite the buzz, demand for hydrogen globally has only grown one-third in a decade. The global chemicals market has been the dominant driver, and, due to tightening environmental policies, increased demand for low sulphur, and higher grade petroleum products. Moreover, if demand for low-carbon hydrogen grows, the market will see an upsurge in growth. But we have not seen that explosion yet.
In a new report, Wood Mackenzie provides a detailed overview of the global hydrogen market.
Complete the form on this page to download the report brochure which includes:
- Table of contents
- List of figures
- Information on how to access the report
Subscribers to Wood Mackenzie's Energy Transition Service can access the report here.
Key findings from the report include:
- Over the past decade, global demand for hydrogen has only grown by 28%, peaking in 2020 at 111.7 million metric tons or 320Mtoe. Despite the buzz, that is small compared to many other new technologies.
- The top 10 countries account for 70% of global hydrogen demand. China and the United States each account for 21% and 19% of demand, respectively. Refining and ammonia dominate two-thirds of all demand uses. Despite the continued discussion on mobility, it is a miniscule share of the market.
- While a few countries and sectors constitute the majority of 2020 global demand, 85 countries require hydrogen. However, individually, 61 countries make up less than 1% of global demand. This shows the potential to make in-roads in many markets at low stage usage.
- Global production of hydrogen is almost exclusively produced by hydrocarbons. Grey, brown and black hydrogen make up a combined 99.6% of global production. So, although there is a tremendous amount of hype regarding green hydrogen, it barely registers across the full value chain for hydrogen’s uses.
This is the first in a series of reports examining the full hydrogen production and demand value chain. In our next two reports, we will focus on costs across all hydrogen production methods and forecasts, then a full outlook across all end-use cases to 2040 with competitive analysis for each sector.
Return to the Hydrogen Guide.