EU demand for hydrogen will reach 60mn t/yr, or 2,500TWh, by 2050, according to the most ambitious scenario from consultancy Aurora Energy Research.

Germany, France, Italy and the UK will be the key demand centres, accounting for around 50pc of demand by that time.

“Meeting this level of demand would make the hydrogen sector almost as big as the EU’s current power sector in terms of being an energy provider,” says Richard Howard, research director at Aurora, noting EU power demand is around 3,000TWh. The scenario is based on the successful realisation of national and EU-wide hydrogen strategies.

Analysis from consultancy Delta EE agrees Europe will be at the forefront of global demand, and within that the industrial sector will be the largest consumer.

Research from the group projects that, in 2025, industry will still be by far the largest source of demand for hydrogen, accounting for 60pc of the 300,000t/yr total. Transport, by contrast, will account for less than 5pc.

3,000TWh –EU power demand

“Industry is the leader in consumption due to the large scale of these projects,” said Nerea Martinez Hipolito, analyst with Delta EE.

Industry also has the potential to benefit from small-scale hydrogen production projects, according to Crispin Keanie, managing partner of technology firm Sagentia Innovation.

“While we do see that large-scale applications will dominate to begin with, there will need to be smaller-scale applications in order to decarbonise some of these industries,” he says.

Some firms are developing onsite steam methane reforms and electrolysers, but their efficiency needs to improve and costs to come down before they are practical for industrial applications, Keanie notes.

All the speakers were presenting at the First Element conference.

---

Author: Tom Young