Delivered in 2021 by Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the Suiso Frontier is the world's first hydrogen carrier. It's pictured here arriving at Australia's Port of Hasting's in January 2022. Photo Courtesy HySTRA/Handout via REUTERS
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) released a groundbreaking report on Thursday highlighting the increasing in demand for clean hydrogen to decarbonize key sectors and the potentially huge opportunities it presents for shipping.
Authored by Professor Stefan Ulreich of Biberach University of Applied Sciences, Germany, the report was presented at the Malaysia Maritime Week event and details hydrogen demand sectors, demand locations, and the demand-pull timeline.
The report, titled “Turning Hydrogen Demand Into Reality: Which Sectors Come First?” focuses on the potential of clean hydrogen to serve as an energy carrier and feedstock to decarbonize multiple sectors, especially those that are hard to abate. It highlights that meeting future hydrogen demand will require an unprecedented scale of renewable electricity for green hydrogen production, presenting once-in-a-generation opportunities and challenges.
Produced in collaboration with Professor Stefan Ulreich and ICS, the report aims to better assess the future supply and demand dynamics of new zero-emission fuels that industrial sectors, including shipping, will use in the coming decades.
“For global hydrogen demand to keep the net-zero by 2050 scenario within reach, demand for hydrogen-based fuel sources would need to scale five times from current levels to reach approximately 500 million tonnes from 2030 to 2050,” said Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping. “One of the main takeaways in this report is the high variability in potential demand. Industry will dominate the hydrogen demand. Shipping, however, can play a key role as an enabler to the hydrogen economy.”
The report identifies South Korea, Japan, and the EU as the main markets to initially drive hydrogen demand. Europe has a target of 20 million tonnes of hydrogen per year by 2030, with half of that volume expected to come from imported sources. To meet the EU’s expected demand, the fleet will need to increase by up to 300 vessels for the EU2030 target.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), hydrogen use is expected to remain static within current industrial use cases into 2030. However, to expand beyond current hydrogen demand, infrastructure, enabling regulation, and access to power must be addressed for new sectors to begin using hydrogen.
Guy Platten added, “Ports and infrastructure development to remove barriers for maritime uptake will be crucial. This will allow both the maritime and other sectors to move forward, enhancing energy security and diversification. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the entire energy-maritime value chain.”
Professor Stefan Ulreich says the key for the realization of a future hydrogen economy is the infrastructure for production, but also transportation infrastructure. “The maritime industry will play a key role by connecting hydrogen surplus regions with high consumption areas. However, this necessitates port infrastructure for loading/unloading and pipeline transport from the port to the consumers. Coordinated action would help most to deliver this,” he stated.
Ulreich also noted that the annual hydrogen demand would necessitate increasing the fleet to transport hydrogen by ship. To meet a global increase of 30 million tonnes of hydrogen traded worldwide, up to 411 new hydrogen vessels (for long distances) or up to 500 vessels if transported as ammonia, would be required.
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