The Europe Green Hydrogen Market is expected to record a positive CAGR of ~40% during the forecast period (2022-2030), due to the rising demand for renewable energy sources, notably in electricity generation. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has benefited the green hydrogen industry, notably in 2020, by intensifying the trend toward decarbonization by minimizing hydrocarbon demand. Unlike grey and blue hydrogen, green hydrogen is generated by transmitting renewable energy through an electrolyzer, which separates water molecules into hydrogen gas and oxygen.
Rising demand for cleaner energy from all major industry sectors and escalating environmental issues arising from carbon emissions are major growth drivers for Europe’s Green Hydrogen market. For instance, according to Eurostat, a statistical office of the European Union located in Luxembourg, renewable energy sources accounted for 37% of total EU electricity consumption in 2020, up from 34% in 2019.
- In addition, wind and hydropower accounted for more than two-thirds of total renewable electricity generation (36% and 33%, respectively), while solar power increased from 1% in 2008 to 8% in 2020.
- Emergence of advanced electrolysis technologies is likely to create opportunities for a wide range of industries/sectors in the forthcoming years to reliably produce green hydrogen at a low cost from outages and evolving renewable energy sources. For instance, the EU hydrogen strategy proposed by the European Commission, plans for increasing renewable hydrogen production via electrolysis to 10 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030, with an installed capacity of 40 gigatonnes (GW) electrolyzers.
- The high cost of producing hydrogen in comparison to fossil fuel equivalents is the most significant barrier to widespread green hydrogen adoption.
Key Trends by Market Segment
By Technology: Alkaline Electrolysis Technology holds the largest share of Europe’s Green Hydrogen market.
- Alkaline Electrolysis Technique is a commonly used method for generating large amounts of hydrogen.
- The primary advantage of alkaline technology is that it uses a liquid electro catalyst instead of expensive metal materials.
- Alkaline electrolysis cells, which are well-known for their long-term stability and lifetime, can also be stacked in large quantities.
- For instance, in October 2021, the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water, an Indian non-profit research organization, asserted that alkaline electrolysis is the most commonly used technique or process to generate green hydrogen, with ~ 65% global market share, followed by PEM electrolyzers with ~35% market share.
- As per the International Energy Agency (IEA) statistics about global installed electrolysis capacity by technology from 2015 to 2020, alkaline electrolysis technology accounted for two-thirds of capacity in 2020, however PEM electrolyzers technology share increased from just 12% to 34% during this period.
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By Application: Industrial Processes and Domestic Energy Systems together account for the majority share of the Europe Green Hydrogen Market.
Rising industrialization across European countries, as well as the large and centralized demand for hydrogen in refineries, chemical industries, and steelmaking, is fueling the demand for green hydrogen in Industrial processes, and Domestic Energy Systems.
- For instance, according to Eurostat, Germany recorded the highest value of sold industrial production in 2021, representing 27 % of the EU total, followed by Italy with 16%.
- According to European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC EU), in 2021, the volume of residential construction output in the Netherlands increased by 3.6%.
- The green hydrogen market in the mobility industry is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period (2022-2030), as green hydrogen provides three times more energy per unit than fossil fuels. In addition, the mobility industry had no other viable options for fossil fuels before the commercialization of fuel-cell-based engines. Furthermore, green hydrogen-powered vehicles are ideal for mining vehicles, trains, planes, Lorries, buses, and even marine transport. It is the best way to meet advanced countries’ zero-carbon footprint targets.
- For instance, in April 2022, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), a Spanish transit company, announced in April 2022 its intention to incorporate 508 low-carbon buses by 2025, of which 233 will be electric and 46 hydrogen-powered.
- Additionally, in April 2022, The German Federal Ministry of Transport announced the investment of USD 644.72 Mn (600 Mn euros) for 1,600 low- and zero-emission buses.
By Generation and Delivery Mode: The captive segment holds the largest market share in the Europe Green Hydrogen Market as captive production meets the majority of Europe’s hydrogen demand.
- According to the 2020 EU Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Observatory (FCHO) report, nearly 88% of total capacity is captive, while the remaining 12% is often supplied by merchant facilities.
- The merchant segment is expected to grow at a faster rate during the forecast period, owing to increased demand from small-scale industries, such as steel manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, as well as the limited capacity of medium-scale industries to afford high capital costs.
- In addition, increased investment in green hydrogen projects, combined with the company’s ability to supply hydrogen at competitive prices, will drive its market growth.
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By Geography: Germany accounts for largest share among all countries within the total Europe Green Hydrogen market, accounting for about 20% of total market revenue.
- France is expected to witness fastest growth during the forecast period, followed closely by Spain, owing primarily to solar and wind generation capacity growth. For instance, in December 2021, French government announced investment of nearly 2 bn euros (USD 2.14 bn) in green hydrogen technologies as part of its 2030 investment plan.
- In addition, the Spanish government created a “hydrogen roadmap” to help the country achieve climate neutrality and a 100% renewable electricity system by 2050, with goals for 2030 and a vision for 2050 to ensure that green hydrogen adds to the country’s climate neutrality by 2050.
- The green hydrogen market in Poland and Italy is also expected to grow significantly in the coming years, as the Italian government has prioritized hydrogen in its plans for an ecological transition, and has made strong goals for the advancement and adaptation of this energy vector by 2030.
- Additionally, the growing adoption of hydrogen strategies for the adoption of e-fuel vehicles in Poland is increasing green hydrogen demand.
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Competitive Landscape
The Green Hydrogen market is highly competitive with ~150 players which include globally diversified players, regional players as well as a large number of country-niche players having their own niche in water electrolysis tech advancement for multiple industries. Most of the country-niche players are renewable energy and equipment suppliers.
Large global players control about 45% of the market, while regional players hold the second largest share. Some of the major players in the market include Linde Plc., Shell Plc., Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Air Liquide, Thyssenkrupp AG, Nel ASA, Siemens Energy, Schaeffler AG, Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation, Ballard Power Systems, Plug Power Inc., Bloom Energy and among others.
The leading global specialist companies such as Linde Plc, Shell Plc, Air Liquide, and Thyssenkrupp are highly focused on providing a significant number of clean/green hydrogen solutions and advanced techniques that can be used across multiple industries, including aviation, manufacturing, oil and gas, energy, and more.
Recent Developments Related to Major Players
- In July 2022, RWE, a German-based energy company, collaborated with Linde to build a 200 MW electrolyzer plant in Western Germany, to increase the site’s green hydrogen production capacity to 2 GW by 2030.
- In August 2022, Shell confirms its plan to buy 4 solar plants being developed by Anesco, a UK-based solar energy company, to meet the UK’s growing demand for renewable energy.
- In April 2022, Air Products announced that it will work collaboratively with World Energy, a U.S.-based company that produces and distributes biofuels, to construct a new USD 2 billion massive construction project at World Energy’s California Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production and distribution hub.
- In May 2022, Air Liquide announced its plan to develop 3 GW of electrolysis for hydrogen production by 2030.
- In July 2021, Nel signed a partnership agreement for the PosHYdon project, an innovative energy transition initiative in the Dutch North Sea that intends to validate the integration of offshore wind, natural gas, and hydrogen, offshore in the Netherlands.
- In May 2021, Siemens Energy has partnered with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Expo 2020 Dubai to establish the Middle East and North Africa’s first industrial-scale, solar-powered green hydrogen facility.
Conclusion
The Europe Green Hydrogen Market is forecasted to continue an exponential growth that is witnessed since 2019, during the forecast period also, primarily driven by rising demand for cleaner energy from all major industry sectors and escalating environmental issues arising from carbon emissions. Though the market is highly competitive with over 150 participants, few global players control dominant share and regional players also hold significant share.
Ken Research has recently published a report title Europe Green Hydrogen Market Size, Segments, Outlook and Revenue Forecast 2022-2030 that is segmented by Technology, Application, and Generation and Delivery Mode. In addition, the report also covers market size and forecasts for the region’s six major countries’ green hydrogen markets. The revenue used to size and forecast the market for each segment is USD billion.
Market Taxonomy
By Technology
Alkaline Electrolyzer
Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Electrolyzer
Solid Oxide Electrolyzer
By Application
Industrial Processes
Domestic Energy Systems (Residential Premises, and Commercial Premises)
Power Grids
Mobility
By Generation and Delivery Mode
Captive
Merchant (Pipeline/Tube Trailers, Liquid Tankers, Trucks, and Ships)
By Geography
Germany
The Netherlands
Poland
Italy
France
Spain
Rest of Europe (Belgium, the UK, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Portugal, Austria, Romania, and Others
