Global Hydrogen Review 2024

Trade and infrastructure

Highlights

  • Hydrogen trade remains minimal and mainly limited to small-scale, localised transport between neighbouring countries, and trade in hydrogen-based products such as ammonia or methanol. In the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE Scenario), interregional trade in hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels reaches more than 70 Mt in hydrogen-equivalent terms (Mt H2-eq) by 2050, representing almost 20% of global low-emissions hydrogen demand in that year.
  • If all announced projects come to fruition, export-oriented projects could account for 16 Mtpa H2-eq, or about one-third of low-emissions hydrogen production by 2030. The amount has increased only marginally since the Global Hydrogen Review 2023, indicating that production projects announced in the past year mainly focus on domestic markets. The announced volume still highlights the potential for an international market, though uncertainties persist. As much as 11 Mtpa H2-eq of this is still at very early stages of development, and a further 5 Mtpa H2-eq is undergoing feasibility study.
  • Ammonia accounts for 85% of the trade from announced projects, reflecting the chemical industry’s existing experience in shipping ammonia. Australia and the United States combined could account for 10 Mtpa H2-eq of exports in 2030, while most projects (75%) target Europe as an import market.
  • Announced new pipeline projects could reach nearly 40 000 km by 2035 – which is almost in line with needs in the NZE Scenario, though only 2% have reached final investment decision (FID). Infrastructure development is a capital-intensive, lengthy process, meaning planning must start early. Several pipeline projects got underway in the past year, but progress on others is slow.
  • Pipelines are the most cost-effective transport option, particularly for large volumes, but shipping can be cheaper over longer distances. This would require new port infrastructure and suitable tankers. On the basis of announced projects, more than 100 new hydrogen and ammonia terminals and port infrastructure projects could be realised by the end of the decade, on multiple continents. More than half of these projects are new ammonia export terminals.
  • Despite recent project announcements, planned underground hydrogen storage capacities – 10 TWh by 2035 and 40 TWh by 2050 – fall far short of the requirements of the NZE Scenario, in which more than 230 TWh is required by 2035. By 2050, the need for hydrogen storage in the NZE Scenario may reach 410 bcm, a volume comparable to natural gas storage infrastructure today.
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