Surging Crude Oil Refining Activities Driving Hydrogen Market Expansion

The global hydrogen market was valued at $136,185.0 million in 2019, and it is expected to reach a revenue of $196,934.5 million by 2030. According to the estimates of the market research company, P&S Intelligence, the market will advance at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2020 to 2030. The market is being propelled by the surging requirement for ammonia, owing to the growing usage of ammonia-based fertilizers for maintaining crop nutrition and improving productivity, and burgeoning need for hydrogen in the refinery industry, on account of the implementation of stringent sulfur reduction regulations.

The growing use of ammonia-based fertilizers is one of the major hydrogen market growth drivers. In recent years, the size of available arable land has declined quite a bit because of climatic, human, and environmental factors. This has subsequently encouraged the governments of many countries and farmers to use the available land judiciously. As per the World Bank, the availability of per person arable land fell from 0.2 hectares in 2011 to 0.19 hectares in 2016. Because of this factor, the demand for fertilizers is soaring, as they improve the productivity of farms and growth rate of crops.

Depending on production process, the hydrogen market is divided into coal gasification, steam-methane reforming, electrolysis, and partial oxidation. Out of these, the steam-methane reforming category held the largest share in the market in the past, on account of the large-scale adoption of the process by many major hydrogen producers across the world, owing to this high operational efficiency, low cost, and the existence of a well-established natural gas supply chain.

Geographically, the Asia-Pacific hydrogen market is predicted to exhibit rapid expansion in the coming years. This will be because of the growing chemical production and crude oil refining activities in the region. Additionally, the surging investments and implementation of initiatives in the fuel-cell vehicle industry are also fueling the demand for hydrogen in the region. Furthermore, the presence of a large consumer pool for fertilizers, especially in regional countries, such as India and China, is boosting the sales of ammonia, which is, in turn, driving the growth of the market in the region.

Hence, it can be said without hesitation that the demand for hydrogen will surge sharply in the coming years, mainly because of the increasing use of ammonia-based fertilizers, growing deployment of fuel-cell-powered vehicles, and soaring crude oil refining activities all over the world.