Today, most hydrogen is produced from natural gas through the steam-methane conversion (SMR) process. This is currently the most economical method of hydrogen production, but it produces a lot of carbon emissions, and the hydrogen produced in this way is considered “gray hydrogen”. When these carbon emissions are captured, stored or reused, the hydrogen is called “blue hydrogen.” And “green hydrogen” refers to the use of wind power, hydropower, solar energy, nuclear power and other renewable energy, through the electrolysis of water generated hydrogen, the whole process without carbon emissions.
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Although gray hydrogen will still occupy the mainstream of the market in the short to medium term, in the context of the global commitment to carbon neutrality, green hydrogen, which has the most carbon reduction properties, obviously has more development potential. The industrial chain of green hydrogen depends on resource advantages, transportation and operating costs, systematic security, and the efficiency of the entire industrial chain, so it also determines the different positioning and industrial layout of countries in the world, as an emerging industry, the key strategy of global energy transformation, requires each participant to have cross-border integration of innovative thinking, solid technology and capacity accumulation.
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The layout of the hydrogen energy industry chain in the world is different
There is no doubt that the global investment and attention to hydrogen energy is increasing. In 2020, the United States issued the “Hydrogen Energy Plan Development Plan”, specifying a number of key technical and economic indicators, hoping to become a market leader in the hydrogen energy industry chain. In recent years, the United States government has given a lot of support in hydrogen energy-related fields. However, limited by upstream resources, the current United States is still focused on CCUS, and a large number of recent investments are mainly concentrated in the field of blue hydrogen. In the long term, the United States, as a potential green hydrogen consumer market, will seek more low-cost green electricity and green hydrogen resources through technology research and development and cooperation.
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Whether gas prices rise or fall, the EU’s carbon price has remained high, underpinned by the EU’s unwavering carbon neutrality strategy. As the cornerstone of the EU carbon emission reduction policy system, carbon market adjusts the substitution relationship between gas power and coal power through carbon price, and achieves emission reduction targets through market-based means. Similarly, China has established a carbon market, but it is still in its infancy, and the carbon price gap between China and Europe is more than ten times.
In 2020, the EU Hydrogen Energy Strategy was released, which regards green hydrogen as the ultimate solution for low-carbon transformation in transportation, transportation, chemical, smelting and other industries. A similar situation to the United States is that Europe’s green hydrogen production resources are also limited, and some manufacturers have begun to use wind power to produce hydrogen, but the scale is relatively small. In the short term, the European market’s investment in hydrogen energy is also focused on the field of blue hydrogen.