International Chamber of Shipping publishes new report on hydrogen demand

International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) – presents a new report written by a professor of energy economics at the Biberach University of Applied Sciences in Germany, identifying hydrogen demand sectors, demand locations and the timeline for demand growth during the Malaysia Maritime Week event.

The report, titled “Transforming Hydrogen Demand into Reality: Which Sectors Are First?”, focuses on the potential for clean hydrogen to act as an energy carrier and feedstock for decarbonization in a range of sectors that are particularly difficult to reduce. The report argues that to meet future hydrogen demand, the scale of demand for renewable electricity to produce green hydrogen is unprecedented, leading to once-in-a-generation opportunities and challenges.

Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping, states:
“For global hydrogen demand to keep a net-zero emissions scenario by 2050 within reach, demand for hydrogen fuel sources would need to increase fivefold from current levels to around 500 million tonnes between 2030 and 2050. One of the key findings of this report is the wide variability of potential demand. Industry will dominate hydrogen demand. However, shipping can play a key role as an enabler of the hydrogen economy.”

The report highlights three economies as the main markets that will initially drive hydrogen demand – South Korea, Japan and the EU. Europe has a target of 20 million tonnes of hydrogen per year by 2030, with half of this volume coming from imported sources. To meet expected EU demand, the fleet will need to grow by 300 vessels to meet the EU’s 2030 target.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), hydrogen consumption is expected to remain stable until 2030 and be within the current range of industrial applications.

However, to go beyond current demand for hydrogen in existing sectors, infrastructure, regulatory and energy access barriers need to be addressed so that new sectors can start using hydrogen, the report said.

Stefan Ulreich, Professor of Energy Economics at the University of Applied Sciences in Biberach, says: “The key to realizing the future hydrogen economy is the production infrastructure, but also the transport infrastructure. The maritime industry will play a key role in connecting regions of hydrogen surplus with areas of high consumption. However, this requires port infrastructure for loading/unloading and pipeline transport from the port to consumers. Coordinated action would help most to achieve this goal.”

“We see that the annual demand for hydrogen would mean an increase in the hydrogen shipping fleet. To meet global growth, if 30 million tons of hydrogen were traded globally, we could need up to 411 new hydrogen ships (long-distance), or up to 500 ships if it were transported as ammonia.”