Global Hydrogen Review 2025

Demand

Highlights

  • Global hydrogen demand reached almost 100 Mt in 2024 and is expected to surpass that milestone in 2025. This increase is being driven by demand for industrial products that use hydrogen as a feedstock, rather than being the result of successful implementation of energy and climate policies.
  • Demand is still almost exclusively from established sectors (refining, ammonia, methanol and fossil-based direct reduced iron [DRI]), with demand for new applications (biofuels upgrading, new industrial uses, mobility, power or synthetic fuels) growing but from a very low base – less than 1% of demand.
  • Low-emissions hydrogen use increased by nearly 10% in 2024 but remains at less than 1% of total demand due to cost challenges and insufficient policy support. Policy initiatives in the European Union, Japan and Korea, and forthcoming measures from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) can accelerate ramp-up, but their impact will only be seen through implementation.
  • Offtake momentum slowed, with signed deals covering 1.7 Mtpa H₂ in 2024, down from 2.4 Mtpa in 2023, only 20% of which were firm agreements. Tenders to procure low-emissions hydrogen yielded mixed results, with positive developments in refining, and uncertain outcomes on steel and fertilisers.
  • Refining and the chemical sector lead the way in the adoption of low-emissions hydrogen. Based on projects that are operational, under construction or have reached final investment decision (FID), more than 2 Mtpa is expected to be consumed in refineries and industrial facilities by 2030. This could be complemented by additional supply provided by merchant projects.
  • In road transport, heavy trucks remain the only fast-growing market for fuel cell electric vehicles, despite their higher total costs of ownership when compared to battery electric or diesel trucks. China remains the leader, with almost 95% of the world’s fuel cell commercial vehicles stock.
  • In shipping, the fleet of ships able to use hydrogen-based fuels is growing and offtake agreement activity has increased, but concerns about supply availability are slightly slowing down momentum. The recent approval of the IMO Net-Zero Framework could provide a boost, but its impact is uncertain, as it may favour first-generation biofuels or even liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the short term.
  • In the power sector, progress remains slow and mostly concentrated in Japan and Korea, where policy support is helping first movers to progress with projects and building on learning from setbacks under early support programmes.
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