Hydrogen is a colorless chemical element that has numerous industrial applications and has the lowest density of all gases. Hydrogen is used in the pharmaceutical industry for the production of drugs and it is also used in the manufacturing of plastics. Moreover, hydrogen in oil and gas industry is used to remove sulfur from fuels during the oil-refining process. In the glass industry, it is used as a protective the atmosphere for creating flat glass sheets and in the electronic industry it is used as flushing in the production of silicon chips. Furthermore, it is also used in filling balloons and airships due to its low density.
The U.S., Europe and Asia industrial hydrogen market was estimated to account for US$ 14.7 billion in terms of revenue in 2018 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 5.0% during the forecast period (2019 to 2027).
Drivers
Rising demand for on-site hydrogen generation system among users due to its various environmental and economic advantages such as reduction of transportation costs as well as emissions during transportation, is predominantly propelling market growth. Hydrogen gas is less risky to handle and store as compared to other gases during on-site generation is also anticipated to foster the market growth. Moreover, capital investment is also very less during usage of small scale on-site hydrogen generation system which is further projected to propel the market growth of industrial hydrogen.
Market Opportunities
The development of an effective and efficient storage system for hydrogen is anticipated to foster the market growth of hydrogen. The volume to weight ratio of hydrogen is relatively high which requires high volume capacity for storage. Because of this handling and storage of hydrogen is costly. To deal with such factors researchers around the globe are working efficiently to develop an efficient storage a system where hydrogen can be stored at low pressure without the need for compression. Development of such an advanced system is expected offer significant growth opportunities for the industrial hydrogen market.
Market Restraints
The production of hydrogen highly depends on the availability of fossil fuels is anticipated to restrict the market growth of hydrogen. Moreover, it is not easy to replace with existing infrastructure for example gasoline is still widely used as a fuel and there isn’t any infrastructure that can support hydrogen as fuel, which becomes difficult to replace gasoline with hydrogen. Also, vehicles need to be refitted in order to accommodate hydrogen as fuel, this factor is expected to restrain the market growth of hydrogen.
Key Takeaways
Among production method, conventional & others methods dominated the U.S., Europe and Asia industrial hydrogen market in 2018 with a 92.6% of market share in terms of revenue, followed by electrolysis.
Market Trends
Increasing focus of manufacturers on developing eco-friendly production technologies such as photobiological, photobioreactors, etc. is expected to be a major trend in the market and is expected to propel the market growth of hydrogen. Also, many companies are taking initiatives to modify existing production process of hydrogen in a carbon-free manner is further anticipated to augment the market growth of hydrogen over the forecast timeframe. For instance, in 2015, Air Liquide deployed its newly developed Cryocap technology for capturing CO2 released during the production of hydrogen through a natural gas reforming process. The technology also claims to improve the apparent overall efficiency via higher hydrogen production levels.
Many Companies are also offering the entire on-site hydrogen generation plant on rent, in order to attract more customers which are estimated to foster the market growth of hydrogen. According to the Coherent Market Insights, Australia based Gas Generators International is offering rental plans for on-site hydrogen generators, which is used across various end-use sectors, in which, the company builds, installs and maintain the complete H2 generation plant while charging only the rental amount from its customers. These generators apply natural gas reforming technology for hydrogen generation.
Competitive Section
Key players active in the U.S., Europe and Asia industrial hydrogen market are Air Liquide, Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Praxair Inc., Linde Plc., and Messer Group GmbH
Few Recent Developments
Linde Plc.
- In November 25, 2019 - Linde announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Baowu Steel Group's new subsidiary, Baowu Clean Energy Ltd, to jointly cooperate on research and development to further develop China's hydrogen market for industrial and mobility applications.
Messer Group GmbH
- Messer has signed a 15-year hydrogen supply contract with RÜTGERS Germany and the company will now invest a total of US$ 10 million in a hydrogen production facility at the site of Rain Carbon Inc.
Market Taxonomy
By Production Method
- Electrolysis
- Conventional Method & Others
By End Use
- Chemicals
- Electronics
- Food & Beverage
- Glass
- Metal Production
- Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology
- Welding & Metal Production
- Others
By Region
- U.S
- Europe
- U.K.
- Germany
- Asia
- Japan
- South Korea
