China leads on electrolyser capacity additions, with a cumulated capacity of almost 220 MW in 2022 and 750 MW under construction expected to be online this year.To get on track with the NZE Scenario, accelerated policy action is required on creating demand for low-emission hydrogen and unlocking investment that can accelerate production scale-up and deployment of infrastructure. But the delays in the implementation of these policies and the lack of policies for demand creation are preventing the scale-up of low-emission hydrogen production and use. A growing number of countries are releasing national strategies and adopting concrete policies to support first movers. Novel applications in heavy industry and long-distance transport account for less than 0.1% of hydrogen demand, whereas they account for one-third of global hydrogen demand by 2030 in the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario. On the demand side, hydrogen demand keeps growing, but remains concentrated in traditional applications.

The announcements for new projects for the production of low-emission hydrogen keep growing, but only 5% have taken firm investment decisions due to uncertainties around the future evolution of demand, the lack of clarity about certification and regulation and the lack of infrastructure available to deliver hydrogen to end users. Hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels can play an important role in the decarbonisation of sectors where emissions are hard to abate and alternative solutions are either unavailable or difficult to implement, such as heavy industry and long-distance transport.

Mas transportation form 2020