IEA estimates 30-fold jump in hydrogen demand by 2030; doubts Australia can be hydrogen superpower

Too expensiveThe IEA warns the future uptake of hydrogen‐based liquid fuels – offering an alternative to oil, gas, and diesel to power ships, long-haul trucks and other uses less suited to battery power – depends crucially “on finding ways to reduce production costs”.To meet European demand alone, the IEA estimates the total capital investment at $US700 billion to $US850 billion ($1.09 trillion to $1.3 trillion) – almost half of it related to assets outside the European Union. That demand for hydrogen is expected to double to 20 million tonnes a year by 2030.This cost more than doubles when the price of capital is included. The largest single cost component would be the purchase and installation of around 440 gigawatts of renewable electricity generation, mostly solar PV and wind, to power the electrolysis process.Australia – expected to be a key exporter to the EU –…

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