International hydrogen economy transforms the energy market

International hydrogen economy transforms the energy market

The rapid growth of the global hydrogen economy will be accompanied by significant geoeconomic and geopolitical changes, according to a recent analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In the paper, "Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor," IRENA outlines how the fuel could transform the global energy market in the long term: New geopolitical centers of influence are expected to emerge based on the production and use of hydrogen, while trade in fossil fuels will gradually decline. Russia has already announced plans to produce 20% of the world's hydrogen by 2030. As part of this project, 9 billion rubles (about 103 million euros) are to be invested, as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced in October 2021.

Based on the international community's commitments to the zero-emissions target, IRENA estimates that hydrogen could cover up to 12% of global energy consumption by 2050. "Hydrogen could prove to be a missing link on the road to a climate-friendly energy future," said Francesco La Camera, IRENA's director general. (pv-magazine)

However, green hydrogen will most likely not be competitive with hydrogen from fossil fuels until the 2030s.

For future hydrogen producers, reduced dependence on imported energy will bring benefits: Targeted investments in the market will thus increase competitiveness and transform the foreign policy landscape with new bilateral agreements. However, IRENA points to the danger of developing countries becoming even more dependent on energy-exporting industrialized nations if this scenario is not countered with substantial investments and technology transfers. Currently, it is mainly those countries that have the technological know-how to produce green hydrogen cheaply with fuel cells and other technologies. IRENA estimates that more than 30 % of the hydrogen produced worldwide will be exported in 2050.

 

Sources:

article by IRENA on pv-magazine:

https://www.pv-magazine.de/unternehmensmeldungen/mit-der-wasserstoffwirtschaft-zeichnet-sich-eine-neue-globale-energiedynamik-ab/, accessed 1/19/2022 at 9:30 a.m.

https://neftegaz.ru/news/gosreg/701749-rossiya-planiruet-zanyat-ne-menee-20-mirovogo-vodorodnogo-rynka-k-2030-g/, accessed 1/19/2022 at 9:50 a.m.