Hydrogen

Worldwide hydrogen demand increased to almost 100 million tonnes in 2024, up 2% from 2023 and in line with overall energy demand growth. The vast majority of this was met by hydrogen produced from fossil fuels without measures in place to capture associated emissions. Sectors that have traditionally used hydrogen, such as oil refining and industry, remained the biggest consumers.

The uptake of low-emissions hydrogen is not yet meeting the expectations set by industry and governments in recent years, especially in light of a recent wave of project delays and cancellations. However, low-emissions hydrogen production is still set to see robust growth to 2030, rising from less than 1% of the total today to around 4% by 2030. This is a significant progress for a nascent sector, and it would put low-emissions hydrogen growth on par with the fast expansions of other clean energy technologies seen in recent years.