Brown Hydrogen Market Expected to Reach $48.9 billion by 2030

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research titled, “Brown hydrogen Market by Technology, by End-Use Industry: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2030,” The brown hydrogen market was valued at $30.4 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $48.9 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 4.7% from 2021 to 2030.

Brown hydrogen is produced through gasification. It is a well-established process that converts coal into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. In the coal gasification process, coal is heated at elevated temperature to produce a syngas. Syngas is rich in hydrogen, carbon monoxide and CO2. More hydrogen can be produced using the water gas shift reaction. The carbon dioxide can separate using relatively mature physical absorption technologies.

Factors that drive the brown hydrogen market growth are availability and less prices of raw material i.e., coal, and less production cost as compared to green hydrogen. However, the factors that hinder the market growth are high carbon foot print of coal gasification process and rising traction of green hydrogen. On the contrary, the rising investment and demand for hydrogen produced from coal gasification with carbon capture storage technology is expected to offer lucrative market opportunities during the forecast period.

On the basis of technology, the coal gasification with carbon capture and storage segment is expected to witness growth at a considerable growth rate. It is expected to witness growth at a CAGR of 11.7% in terms of volume during the forecast period. This is attributed to numerous factors such as ease in availability of raw materials, cheap production, cheap raw material and others.

Based on the end-use industry, the chemical segment garnered 47.8% share in 2020 in terms of volume. This is attributed to increased demand from chemical industries in China, Germany, India, and others.

On the basis of region, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.8% in terms of volume during the forecast period. This is attributed to increase in demand for brown hydrogen from Australia, India, and others. Furthermore, as per India’s hydrogen strategy, there is expected to be increase in investment by India on coal gasification.

The brown hydrogen market is segmented on the basis of technology, end-use industry, and region. Depending on technology, the brown hydrogen market is categorized into coal gasification with carbon capture storage and coal gasification without carbon capture storage. End-use industry of brown hydrogen studied in the market include refining, chemicals, iron and steel and others. Region wise, the brown hydrogen market share is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

The brown hydrogen market analysis covers in-depth information of the major industry participants. The key players operating and profiled in the brown hydrogen market include Air Products, Air Liquide, Sasol, Sinopec, Iwatani Corp, J-Power.

Key findings of the study

• The report outlines the current brown hydrogen market trends and future scenario of the market from 2021 to 2030 to understand the prevailing opportunities and potential investment pockets.
• The brown hydrogen market size is provided in terms of volume and revenue.
• On the basis of end-use industry, the refining; segment gained 44.3% share in 2020 in terms of volume.
• On the basis of region, the North America region garnered market share of 6.5% in 2020 in terms of volume.
• Based on the end-use industry, the iron and steel segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.9% in terms of volume.
• On the basis of technology, the coal gasification with carbon capture storage is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.7% in terms of volume.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Brown Hydrogen Market

•  The outbreak of COVID-19 has halted the industrial activities which has consequently decreased the demand for energy.
• The COVID-19 lockdowns posed a number of problems for industry participants, including disrupted supply chains, logistical difficulties in shipping end goods, and others.
• The impact of the COVID-19 on global supply chains will have the major impact on hydrogen technologies, for which a well-managed supply chain and huge capital are needed for demonstration.
•  The hydrogen demand is in oil refining, steel manufacturing and chemical industry have been highly impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak. The chemicals produced using hydrogen (e.g. methanol) has dropped significantly.