Will 2021 be remembered as the year of hydrogen?
When we started Viritech just under a year ago we knew that Hydrogen was a critical piece of the zero emissions puzzle. We also knew that over time Hydrogen would be recognised and commonly understood as the future fuel on the road to net zero.
Initial Cautious Optimism For Hydrogen Strategies
We’ve been cautiously optimistic over this year as countries released Hydrogen Strategies and put funding behind their promises. Some countries have committed more than others. (In our view, set out in our Cleantech Call To Action whitepaper, the UK Hydrogen Strategy could be much more robust and much better funded.)
‘The UK government said around £900 million ($1.25 billion) of funding will be available to support hydrogen projects in Britain.’ (Source: Reuters)
‘France's hydrogen strategy approved last September set a 2030 target for 6.5 GW of electrolyzer capacity supported by €7 billion ($8.4 billion) of funding. The government approved interim hydrogen regulation February 17 providing clear terminology for the various types of hydrogen.’ (Source: SP Global)
‘The German federal government and states plan to fund 62 IPCEIs (‘important projects of common European interest’) in Germany with over €8 billion ($9.7 billion). The German National Hydrogen Strategy contains an action plan of 38 concrete measures for starting the market ramp-up until 2023.’ (Source: CSIS)
COP 26 Might Be Hydrogen’s Moment
The very encouraging news is that, according to the Hydrogen Council’s tally in July of this year, ‘the Hydrogen investment pipeline grew to $500 billion in response to government commitments to deep decarbonisation.’
359 large-scale projects announced globally, up 131 in first half of 2021
Europe is leading with investments of $130bn, but other regions are catching up
What’s even more encouraging is that since the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) started in Glasgow on Sunday 31 October according to Recharge News ‘a total of 32 countries, plus the EU, have agreed to work together to accelerate the development and deployment of clean H2 and ensure that “affordable renewable and low-carbon hydrogen is globally available by 2030.’
We had hopes for progress to be furthered at the Cop26 conference in Glasgow this week but we were braced for slow going.
So, we are delighted to see how the conversation is taking off and entering the mainstream – and the conversation is not about ‘low-carbon’ hydrogen but GREEN Hydrogen. The good stuff.
Google Trends shows a recent spike in UK searches for ‘green hydrogen’ as well as, ‘blue hydrogen vs green hydrogen’. People are interested and want to learn more. Great news!
Here are just some of the headlines from major publications:
Consensus over hydrogen at COP26 can dramatically speed up the energy transition
COP26: Hydrogen-powered train and bin lorry to be unveiled
COP26: Fortescue plans $8.4bn green hydrogen investment
Europe to invest €1bn in clean technologies such as green hydrogen
COP26 should offer green hydrogen a global stage in Glasgow
The Private Sector Is Keen On Hydrogen
There’s also been fantastic private sector investment in hydrogen technologies, from Fortescue’s green hydrogen plans for $8.4 billion to HYCAP’s hydrogen investment fund which aims to raise £1 billion.
It’s good for the environment and good for business. A Goldman Sachs forecast published in the Economist ‘reckons that, if governments take their green commitments seriously, today’s hydrogen market could increase more than five-fold to over 500m tonnes by 2050.
This is a pivotal moment for hydrogen and at Viritech we are energised and excited to be part of it. With the macro environment falling into place, we plan to keep on innovating the tech to deliver hydrogen powertrains for the Automotive, Aerospace, Marine, and Distributed Power industries.
We’d love to hear what you think, get in touch info@viritech.co.uk
#greenhydrogen #cleantech #apricalehydrogenhypercar
