Doha: The energy sector is undergoing a transformation, with a growing focus on cleaner energy sources and technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a more sustainable future. In this context, hydrogen is emerging as a key player in the energy transition, with a variety of clean production methods offering different advantages and competitiveness in the market.
The recent results of the Accelerated Energy Decarbonisation Scenario (AEDS), developed within the framework of the 7th edition of the GECF Global Gas Outlook, provide valuable insights into the future of hydrogen as an energy vector. The results of the AEDS indicate that hydrogen has the potential to play a major role in meeting future energy needs. The AEDS projects that hydrogen demand could reach 550 million tonnes (mt) by 2050, making up nearly 10 percent of the total energy mix.
This high demand for hydrogen reflects its compatibility as an energy vector, but also highlights the need for clean and more efficient means of hydrogen production. Green hydrogen produced through the electrolysis of water using renewable power is expected to gain 48 percent of the output by 2050, with 270 mt of production.
This level of production will require a huge amount of electricity, estimated at 12,000 terawatt hour (TWh). This is equivalent to 43 percent of the current world annual electricity generation, or four times the current electricity generation from wind and solar, or the total current electricity generation in China and the U.S. combined.
There will be a massive total requirement for renewable electricity generation forecasted at 46,000 TWh annually from solar and wind in AEDS by 2050 due to higher electricity needs and decarbonisation pathways such as electrification of the energy sectors. This amount of renewable power demand is more than 12 times higher than the current generation from wind and solar at around 3,600 TWh.
