• Basic definitions
• Hydrogen resources
• Mainstream technologies
• Advantages and disadvantages
• Hydrogen energy statistics
• Hydrogen energy infrastructure
• Major companies
• Research and innovations
• Trends of development
• References
• Photo gallery

Table 1. Top 10 companies by hydrogen capacity at refineries as of January 1, 2018 in United States

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Refinery Capacity Report, June 2018)

To increase the efficiency of the process, water heating and various electrolytes are used. Depending on the amount of characteristic minerals in the water, alkaline or acid solutions are distinguished. Currently, the processes most widely used are alkaline water electrolysis, Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis and Solid Oxide Electrolysis (SOE). Alkaline water electrolysis is usually carried out at the temperature range of 50-120°С, pressure up to 60 bar using KOH or NaOH as an electrolyte and a nickel catalyst. For PEM, the typical temperature range of the electrolysis process is 60-100°С at a pressure of 30-80 bar and the use of platinum-iridium (platinum/iridium) catalysts, for SOE – 650-1000°С (water is in a vaporous state) [4,26,27]. The electrical efficiency of the processes ranges from 56-81%, with lower values ​​characteristic of PEM electrolytic cells, and large values ​​for SOE [4]. The Norwegian company NEL is one of the oldest and largest among manufacturers of various types of electrolysers since 1927. The main activity of the company is aimed at the use of hydrogen obtained by electrolysis in renewable energy. Alkaline electrolysers of the series A company can produce more than 8 tons of hydrogen per day and, for example, PAM electrolysers of the M series can produce hydrogen with a purity of 99.9998% [28]. More detailed information on electrolysis technologies and their application in renewable energy can be obtained in [29].

A list of the main operations for processing the hydrogen obtained during various technological processes is shown in Figure 1. The first step is separation and purification, which is traditional for all industrial gases. Most often in the production of hydrogen, adsorption methods, low-temperature condensation, and membrane technologies are used. The next technological stage is conditioning, which includes technologies for bringing finished products to a condition to ensure the delivery of hydrogen to the final consumer and its storage. Regarding hydrogen, compression and liquefaction are most widely used. The technology of physical adsorption of some solid materials (metals and alloys, composites, graphene, etc.), as well as hydrogenation, that is, the creation of a compound of hydrogen and a suitable organic substance are under development.
Compressing with a total capacity of about 11 million Nm³/hr occupies a dominant position in the hydrogen market. Moreover, all the hydrogen liquefaction capacities in the world do not exceed 200 thousand Nm³/hr [1].

Figure 8-9. Air Liquide & Praxair along with Air Products are the largest producers of commercial hydrogen in the world. Air Liquide has the longest network of hydrogen pipelines of about 2,000 km. Praxair is the leader in the production of liquefied hydrogen – more than 60,000 Nm³ / hr.



The compression of hydrogen for its storage and transportation is due to the fact that to store 1 kg of hydrogen under normal conditions (100 kPa and 25° C) requires a tank with a volume of more than 12 m³, and after compression to 350 bar the volume of the fuel is reduced by more than 99%. The standard pressure during storage of compressed hydrogen in cars is agreed at 700 bar. [thirty]. The largest enterprises for the production of merchant compressed hydrogen plants are located in the US states of Texas and Louisiana - Air Products Baytown, TX, USA, 139 542 Nm³/hr and Praxair Geismar, LA, USA, 106 387 Nm³/hr [1].

Pressurized tanks are most often used to store compressed hydrogen. However, the storage of hydrogen in underground salt caverns, as well as in depleted fields, natural gas aquifer storages, has great prospects. A detailed review of technologies and other data on the underground storage of hydrogen can be found in [31]. The three largest operating underground hydrogen storage facilities are located in the US, Texas – Air Liquide Beaumont; Conoco Phillips Clemens, Lake Jackson; Praxair Moss Bluff [31, 32].

In Europe, and especially in Germany, the technology of storing and transporting hydrogen using natural gas networks that blend hydrogen and natural gas, are gaining great popularity [35].The most important element of the economic feasibility of such a technology is the use of existing infrastructure, which avoids additional and very significant capital costs. However, a noticeable difference in the density of hydrogen and natural gas, as well as in the conditions of their interaction with atmospheric oxygen during combustion, create serious engineering difficulties in the large-scale implementation of this technology [4].

The use of liquefied hydrogen is primarily due to the requirement to provide the highest possible energy content per unit volume; therefore the aerospace industry was the first consumers of such hydrogen. However, taking into account the fact that the temperature of the transition of hydrogen to a liquid state is around –253° C, such a process is extremely expensive [1,30,33,34]. Nevertheless, the accumulated engineering experience in hydrogen liquefaction allowed us to create technologies for its use in the modern automotive industry. The largest enterprises for the production of liquefied hydrogen are concentrated in the USA, Canada and Japan. The largest of them are Air Products New Orleans, LA, USA with a capacity of 29 415 Nm³/hr and Praxair Niagara Falls, NY, USA, 25 118 Nm³ / hr [1].

The transportation and distribution of hydrogen between consumers is currently carried out mainly in the following ways – by means of hydrogen pipeline, Gas or liquid trailer. The total pipeline network of hydrogen pipelines in the world exceeds 4500 km. The largest hydrogen pipeline in the world is located in the USA – Texas-Louisiana, 2223 km long [1]. Pipelines are used both for transportation over relatively large distances, and between separate production units of one enterprise. Nevertheless, despite the progress in this area, gas or liquid trailer remain the main transport units for the distribution of commercial hydrogen between small and medium-sized consumers in the hydrogen production area.

Figure 10-11. Air Liquide’s hydrogen infrastructure is one of the most extensive in the world



An undoubtedly significant breakthrough in the development of hydrogen infrastructure would be the development of safe and economically viable technologies for long-distance transmission of hydrogen, including by sea.Today, several suitable options are being considered. Among them, first of all, it is necessary to mention hydrogen to ammonia conversion and the creation of LOHC or liquid organic hydrogen carrier. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed in detail in [4]. In the case of ammonium, we can mention the Togliatti (Russia) – Odessa (Ukraine) pipeline, which has a long and successful history. The liquid organic hydrogen carrier option is actively promoted by the Japanese company, the Chiyoda Corporation [36]. The technology includes hydrogenation of hydrogen to methylcyclohexane by combining it with toluene, storing a liquid organic carrier and its transportation, followed by dehydrogenation at the delivery site with the formation of the starting products – hydrogen and toluene. According to the developers, organic chemical hydride has the best combination of volumetric density and gravimetric density compared to other hydrogen storage options, including liquefaction. According to the company's press release, hydrogen will be produced in Brunei by steam reforming followed by hydrogenation. Then, hydrogen in methylcyclohexane will be transported by sea to Kawasaki in Japan, where the construction of a dehydrogenation complex is planned with the subsequent distribution of pure hydrogen to consumers [37]. The completion of the necessary facilities is scheduled for the end of 2019, commissioning in January 2020.
According to [4], transportation of hydrogen via pipelines is generally the cheapest option, however, for large distances, transportation in the form of ammonium or LOHC can also be cost-effective.
Additional information on the storage and transportation of hydrogen can be found in [38–39].
The use of hydrogen in modern energy has several applications. The most widespread application, as noted above, is in the oil refining industry. Among other important areas – the use of hydrogen as a clean fuel, as well as a means of storing energy with subsequent production of electricity through fuel cells.
Currently, Japan has the largest number of hydrogen refuelling stations, where their number exceeds one hundred, followed by the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. In total, about 30 countries are involved in this process, and the total number of existing refuelling stations in the world is close to 500.

Figure 12-13. Hydrogen refueling stations are an integral part of the hydrogen infrastructure. Left – Belgium, right – Denmark.



Essentially, this entire infrastructure has been built over the past 10 years. In addition to Japan, a large number of hydrogen refuelling stations exist in California and in Germany with the countries adjacent to it. Many countries have programs to promote the development of hydrogen infrastructure, including hydrogen refuelling stations.
Detailed information on the distribution infrastructure of hydrogen fuel can be found here [40-43].

Fuel cells are one of the most promising areas for utilizing hydrogen to generate electricity. The advantage of a fuel cell as a converter of one type of energy into another is primarily in the efficiency of the conversion process. Compared to most traditional technologies, fuel cells convert the chemical energy of the starting elements or substances (for example, hydrogen and oxygen) into electrical energy as a result of direct redox reactions without any intermediate steps, for example, combustion. The simplified design of the fuel cell is shown in Fig. 14.

Figure 14. Fuel cell design & operation. Aenert video

1. Anode (Gas diffusion electrode) 2. Catalyst 3. Membrane (Proton exchange) 4. Cathode (Gas diffusion electrode)

The main promising direction of the use of hydrogen in modern energy, excluding oil refining, is its use as environmentally-friendly fuel for the production of useful energy, which can come to replace fossil fuels in the form of oil, natural gas and coal. Fossil energy sources are truly a gift from nature to humanity, because they have a number of unique properties – they have limited, but large-scale reserves, they produce useful energy when interacting with oxygen in the air, without which it can be stored for a long time, can be transported over long distances and used in any region of the world, they are relatively safe, well studied and mastered; with an existing global infrastructure. However, fossil fuels have several significant disadvantages – they produce greenhouse gases during combustion; have limited and extremely unevenly distributed deposits, as a result of which some states are donors of energy resources and others are consumers, which is often the cause of political manipulation and conflict; during the extraction, transportation and processing of fossil energy resources, various technological disasters are inevitable, which leads to environmental pollution. Can hydrogen become a substitute for such a competitor? For now, it is impossible to get a definite answer to this question.

The advantages and disadvantages of hydrogen as a competitive energy carrier are well identified both at the level of its physical and chemical properties, and at the stages of technological transitions. First of all, it is worth highlighting the unique heat of combustion ability of hydrogen, which is approximately two and a half times greater than that of methane, three and a half times higher than that of oil and almost five times higher than that of coal.
Hydrogen is a very light and non-toxic element that can be stored in isolated containers for a long time without loss of productive properties. Hydrogen has a low viscosity, and can therefore be easily transported through pipelines with even small diameters. When burned, hydrogen does not form harmful emissions.
On the other hand, hydrogen is an explosive and flammable gas. At a certain ratio with oxygen (2:1) and even with air, Oxyhydrogen is formed, which has a large combustible and detonation potential. Given that hydrogen is able to diffuse relatively easily in metals (for example, penetrate through the walls of metal vessels), has no smell and colour, but has very high thermal conductivity, the problem of ensuring safe interaction with hydrogen inevitably leads to the use of a large number of complex technical devices and technologies. To liquefy hydrogen, a very low temperature close to absolute zero is required, which dramatically reduces the benefits of liquid hydrogen for storage and transportation. The hydrogen density at 20° C pressure in 1 atmosphere is only 0.0838 kg/m³ versus 0.668 kg/m³ for methane [1] or about eight times less, which determines its low energy density, i.e.  the amount of energy per unit of volume.
Since today the production of hydrogen is carried out mainly from natural gas and coal, and is accompanied by a significant amount of harmful emissions, its advantage as an environmentally-friendly gas is devalued. The production of hydrogen from energy from renewable sources is currently expensive and cannot economically compete with the above methods.

Figure 15-16. Not all hydrogen projects are successful. On the left is Shell’s closed hydrogen fueling station, on the right is a decommissioned fuel cell bus, Iceland.



The universality of hydrogen as an energy resource, which simultaneously has the ability to accumulate energy, to act as fuel for electricity production and for vehicles, has not yet been realized on an industrial scale and forecasts of such a perspective are still theoretical. The large-scale use of hydrogen for energy needs is severely limited by the lack of developed infrastructure, despite significant progress in this direction in recent years. For example, the delivery and storage of hydrogen for gas stations or fuel cell power plants are the main constraints to the development of this energy sector. In [4], the existing legal regulatory restrictions in force in many countries are indicated as an additional barrier to the development of the hydrogen industry.
Obviously, despite the above problems, the hydrogen industry has accumulated rich engineering experience in solving many technical problems and is steadily increasing production volumes. However, for the use of hydrogen in clean energy, it is first necessary to solve one fundamental problem - to ensure the competitive production of hydrogen by clean methods, bypassing the use of fossil fuels, as well as efficient delivery to consumers. The current prices of hydrogen production by steam reforming from natural gas are in the range of 1-2.5 USD/KgH₂ depending on the region, and the main costs are determined by the cost of natural gas, which is especially typical for Europe and China [4]. In renewable energy, as an alternative way to produce hydrogen, wind power and solar energy applications are considered, followed by electrolysis. According to calculations [4], the prices for hydrogen obtained by electrolysis in comparison with hydrogen obtained from natural gas can be comparable at an electric power cost of 40-10 USD / MWh, provided that the electrolysis capacity factor is at least 50% and a CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage) process is included. Moreover, with a decrease in the cost of CCUS, the equivalent cost of the hydrogen produced will shift towards lower values of the cost of electricity for electrolysis. However, the cost of electricity from renewable sources below 40 USD / MWh is episodic and can be realized mainly due to hydro and geothermal energy [54]. Thus, at present, an economically viable scheme for the production of hydrogen via electrolysis is only possible through network connections. Moreover, there are several additional barriers: the cost of hydrogen production by electrolysis substantially depends on the duration of the electrolyser and the time of day the electricity is consumed from the network; large-scale production of hydrogen will require a significant amount of fresh water, while the use of sea water will require additional energy costs for desalination; with an emphasis on the production of electricity from renewable sources, excluding hydropower, additional and significant capacities are needed [4].
A detailed analysis of the cost of hydrogen produced through basic industrial technologies was carried out in [55]. Based on the Energy Information Administration data, the author calculated the cost of producing one kilogram of hydrogen (Estimated Hydrogen Production Costs), which was 1.4 USD / KgH₂ and 2.63 USD / KgH₂ for steam reforming, including distribution, for coal gasification – 1.21 and 1.82 (with CCUS) USD/KgH₂, for gasification of biomass – 1.44 USD / KgH₂, distributed electrolysis – 6.75 USD / KgH₂, wind electrolysis – 3.82 USD / KgH₂, distributed wind electrolysis – 7.26 USD / KgH₂. The data demonstrate the competitive cost of hydrogen produced by biomass gasification and indicate the prospects of this direction, as well as the economic issues of electrolysis.
Production Cost of Hydrogen is also estimated in [56]. Here, the cost of producing one Nm3 by various renewable energy technologies and electrolysis is set in the range between 22 cents/Nm³ and more than 50 cents/Nm³ depending on the region and method of production, and the best values are typical for hydropower in countries with a high level of development, and worst for wind energy and photovoltaics. At the same time, the cost of producing hydrogen from fossil sources for almost all the regions considered in this work is determined below 22-23 cents / Nm³. In [3], interesting data is presented on the levelised cost of hydrogen by comparing extreme options – with a high share of wind generation (in Denmark) and off-grid dedicated facilities. With low load factors, the levelised cost of hydrogen remains very high, at mid-range load factors are significantly reduced and equalized at a level of 6 to slightly below 4 USD / KgH₂. The target values of selling prices for hydrogen for different countries, including for the USA – 5 USD / KgH₂, for Japan, the cost of hydrogen at refuelling stations is supposed to be reduced from the current 10 to 3 USD / KgH₂ by 2030, for Europe it is planned to reach 3-7 USD / KgH₂.
The current situation with the development of hydrogen energy strongly resembles the starting period of the development of renewable energy, when it seemed that this area would never be able to achieve a competitive state with fossil fuels. Nevertheless, as a result of a gradual increase or scaling up of production, state support and numerous engineering solutions, it has been possible to ensure a significant reduction of the electricity prices. Currently, we can say that at least photovoltaics and wind energy have entered a phase of direct competition with fossil fuels. Obviously, hydrogen energy will have to undergo the same transition, but it seems that it will not be so painful, since, as previously mentioned, nowadays, the production of hydrogen and its use is a long-established and highly developed industry, albeit not yet aimed at creating world-wide clean fuel infrastructure.

This section provides some important statistics regarding hydrogen production and elements of the hydrogen infrastructure.
The distribution of capacities for the production of liquefied and compressed hydrogen between the leading world manufacturers is presented in Fig. 17-18.

Figure 17-18. Left – Cryogenic Liquid Hydrogen Production Capacity by Company, Nm³/hr. To the right – Compressed Gas Hydrogen Production Capacity by Company, Nm³/hr.

Source: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with funding from the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Fuel Cell Technologies Office

The distribution of hydrogen pipelines by region as well as the share of companies in this infrastructure are shown in Figures 19-20.

Figure 19-20. Left – Share of the World's Leading Companies in the length of a Hydrogen Pipelines. To the right – The proportion of parts of the world in the length of hydrogen pipelines.

*In 2018 Praxair merged with Linde AG to form Linde plc
Source: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with funding from the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Fuel Cell Technologies Office

The development of hydrogen transport infrastructure is largely determined by the number of hydrogen refuelling stations. The increase in their number in the world over the past 10 years is shown in Figure 21.

Figure 21. The growth rate of the number of hydrogen filling stations in the world in 2009-2018

Sources: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory with funding from the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Fuel Cell Technologies Office; Alternative Fuels Data Center, US Department of Energy
         
Another important indicator of the development of hydrogen technology is the use of fuel cells. The annual increase in new fuel cell capacities between 2009 and 2017 is shown in Figure 22.

Figure 22. The growth rate of shipments by fuel cell type in the world in 2009-2017, MW

Sources: E4Tech,  The Fuel Cell Industry Review 2017

The total distribution of fuel cells by regions as well as by their types and categories of destination in 2017 is shown in Figure 23.

Figure 23. Data shipment by application, region and fuel sell type in 2017, MW

Sources: E4Tech, The Fuel Cell Industry Review 2017

Modern hydrogen energy infrastructure is characterized by a large number of various objects – enterprises for the production, storage and transportation, as well as the use of hydrogen. In addition, the units are ranked by type of technology, by their capacity and other characteristics. For obvious reasons, it is almost impossible to display all this information in any visual format. Therefore, the following option is proposed in the form of a world map, which displays only the basic facilities of the hydrogen infrastructure, including the main large projects, important statistical data on certain thematic areas and other related information. The contents of the map on hydrogen energy infrastructure included: data on the total capacity for the production of commercial hydrogen in various countries of the world (to the extent that it was possible to be reliable based on the indicated sources of information); data on the number of hydrogen refuelling stations in the countries of the world (without their geographic location); a list of hydrogen pipelines in the world with an indication of their length and location; list of underground hydrogen storage facilities, including prospective ones, and their location; lists of the largest facilities for the production of commercial liquefied and compressed hydrogen, indicating the production capacity and location of facilities; a list of the largest stationary fuel cell stations indicating the capacity, status and location of facilities; list of the largest installations for the gasification of coal, biomass and municipal waste, specializing in including in the production of hydrogen indicating the power and location of objects; list of the largest electrolysers, power-to gas facilities, renewable energy enterprises with hydrogen storage systems, indicating the capacity and their location; list of various programs for the development of hydrogen energy in some countries of the world; related statistics. Location of objects is indicated approximately.

Figure 24. Hydrogen energy infrastructure around the world

In the field of hydrogen energy there are a large number of different companies – hydrogen producers and consumers, equipment creators and technology developers, designers and service companies. Some of them are public, which allows us to assess their positioning on the stock market. Below, we display charts of changes of shares value of some companies, in which a significant share in their business activity is occupied by the production of hydrogen or related equipment, starting in 2009, when the value of the shares was conditionally equated to zero.

Figure 25-26. Left – Price change in relative units for public companies in the field Fuel Сell. To the right – Price change in relative units for public companies in the field Hydrogen Energy.

Sources: Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg

As follows from the diagrams presented, most companies have positive trends on the market, in particular Air Product, Air Liquide, Ballard Power Systems, Proton Power Systems, whose stock prices have increased by more than 100% over the reviewed period.

Below are the key manufacturers, working the main areas of the hydrogen industry, as well as other companies associated with the hydrogen production. Company names are provided for convenience with hyperlinks to the home pages of their websites.

Manufacturers of hydrogen and equipment for its production, developers and owners of hydrogen technologies:
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Air Liquide
Praxair
Linde Group
Sichuan Air Separation Group
TechnipFMC
AirGas Inc.  
Showa Denko
Shenhua Group
Messer Group
Taiyo Nippon Sanso
Kaimeite Gas
Basf
Iwatani International Corp.
Caloric Anlagebau GMBH
Haldor Topsoe
Hebei Jiheng Chemical
Valmet
Tarpo
EQTEC
Chiyoda Corporation
Nel
Deokyang
Sasol
Siemens
ITM Power
GE
GreenHydrogen
Sunfire
Proton OnSite
McPhy

Key manufacturers, suppliers and consumers of fuel cells:

Bloom Energy
Ballard Power Systems
Doosan Fuel Cell America
FuelCell Energy
Fuji Electric
Hydrogenics
Proton Motor GMBH
Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd.
Hanwha Energy
Gyeonggi Green Energy

Key fuel cell car manufacturers:

Hyundai
Kia
Toyota
Honda
BMW
Audi
Mitsubishi
Nissan
Lexus
Mercedes

A more detailed list of companies operating in the hydrogen industry can be found on the page “List of companies”.

One of the most affordable options for assessing research and inventive activity in modern technology is provided by the database of patent applications of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) [60]. A brief overview of patent applications published by WIPO from 2009 to 2018 on topics related to the production of hydrogen and fuel cells is presented below. The following search code was used to search for applications regarding hydrogen production (Searchquery): DP:[2009 TO 2018] ANDOF:WOAND ((IC:C01B3* ANDFP:("STEAM REFORM*" OR "STEAM METHANE REFORM*" OR "PARTIAL OXIDAT*" ORPOX)) ORFP:(gasif* AND (syngas OR "syngas" OR "synthesis gas" OR "synthetic gas" OR (hydrogen AND "carbon monoxide"))) ORIC:(C25B1/04)).
The main results of the analysis are shown in Figures 27-28.

Figure 27-28. Left — Number of patent applications registered within WIPO according to keywords of hydrogen energy. To the right — Distribution of registered patent applications within WIPO in recent years on topics related to hydrogen energy.

Source: World Intellectual Property Organization, search words used "steam reforming"; "partial oxidation"; "gasification"; "electrolysis"; update 18.06.2019

As follows from the diagrams presented, interest in hydrogen production over the past 10 years has a slight upward trend. On average, more than 150 applications for inventions are registered annually. The greatest interest of the inventors is related to electrolysis technologies, and the topics following it related to steam reforming and gasification are rather few. Since 2009, the annual number of patent applications in the WIPO system on this subject has increased from less than 30 to 160. This is certainly a clear demonstration of the growing interest of developers in solving the problem of producing hydrogen using environmentally-friendly methods, which noticeably coincides in time with the growth of hydrogen refuelling capacities as well as fuel cells. When analysing verbal expressions in patent documents it was found that, in addition to traditional and general technological words and expressions, the word WATER was used in 13.9% of cases, GASIFICATION in 13.5%, ELECTROLYSIS in 11%, and CELL in 10.3%. At the same time, for example, STEAM and REFORMING were used much less frequently — in 7 and 5.5% of cases.
A diagram of the distribution of the number of patent applications when using the key phrase fuel cells is presented in Figure 29.

Figure 29. Number of patent applications registered within WIPO according to keywords of fuel сell

Sources: World Intellectual Property Organization, search words used "Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell*"; "PEMFC"; "Direct Methanol Fuel Cell*";
"DMFC"; "Alkaline Fuel Cell*"; "AFC"; "Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell*"; "PAFC"; "Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell*"; "MCFC"; "Solid oxide fuel cell*"; "SOFC" update 19.06.2019

In this case, in contrast to the above charts, there is a clear decrease in patent activity, at least in this patent office. The main interest of the inventors is focused on the Solid oxide fuel cell.
Figure 30 shows a distribution chart of the share of participation in the patenting process of various countries, the residents of which registered patent applications for the said time period, from among the top 25 applicants. Figure 31 shows the distribution diagram of the most common subgroups of the international patent classification identified in the examined patent documents.

Figure. 30-31. Left — The proportion of countries in the world in terms of the activity of their residents among the top 25 applicants. To the right — The most frequently mentioned subgroups of the IPC, ( % of total).

Source: World Intellectual Property Organization, search words used "steam methane reform"; "partial oxidat"; "syngas"; "hydrogen"; "carbon monoxide"

The top five leaders among countries included the USA, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and France, whose residents showed the highest patent activity.

These are the top 10 most commonly used IPC subgroups according to WIPO terminology —C25B1/04— by electrolysis of water; C01B3/38— using catalysts; C25B9/00— Cells or assemblies of cells; Constructional parts of cells; Assemblies of constructional parts, e.g. electrode-diaphragm assemblies; C25B1/10 — in diaphragm cells; C25B15/08— Supplying or removing reactants or electrolytes; Regeneration of electrolytes; C10J3/00 — Production of gases containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen, e.g. synthesis gas or town gas, from solid carbonaceous materials by partial oxidation processes involving oxygen or steam; C25B15/02— Process control or regulation; C25B11/04 - characterized by the material; C25B1/06— in cells with flat or plate-like electrodes; C10G2/00 — Production of liquid hydrocarbon mixtures of undefined composition from oxides of carbon.
Subgroup C25B1 / 04 — by electrolysis of water was much more common than others — in 8.8% of cases.
Table 3 shows the top 10 applicants who submitted the largest number of applications to WIPO during the said time period.

Table 3. Top 10 applicants in the collection of WIPO patent applications in the field of technologies, 2008-2017 (A total of 1,774 documents submitted by 2,446 applicants were processed)

Source: World Intellectual Property Organization

The largest number of applications was submitted by Commissariat À L'ÉnergieAtomique Et Aux Énergies Alternatives (France) and the company Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Germany). The total share of the first ten companies in the number of applications was about 16%.

There are many forecasts of the development of the hydrogen industry in the medium and long term up to 2050, among them there are estimates of the potential of hydrogen as a mean to reduce CO₂ emissions and boost the renewable energy.
In [61], in the framework of The Global Pathways Analysis Tool (GPAT), hydrogen demand was estimated up to 2050 for eight major countries — France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, and the United States, as well as individual cases for some other countries. For each country, the demand for hydrogen was calculated based on assumptions about future market shares of hydrogen vehicles. The costs of hydrogen production were estimated based on regional data on raw materials available for hydrogen production by type, cost, quantity, etc. The analysis was carried out according to several scenarios based on the dominance of individual indicators. The study determined that by 2050 the general demand for hydrogen will be approximately 35 billion kg/year, while the main share of the United States. Among other consumers, Germany, Japan, Spain and France will stand out. It was also established that hydrogen production will rely on natural gas as the main raw material, and it will still be difficult for other technologies to compete with steam reforming. Insignificant competition for this method will be provided by gasification of coal and biomass and wind energy. However, for example, when doubling the price of natural gas, biomass will play a dominant role in the production of hydrogen. The taxation of CO₂ emissions can also play an important role, and this is especially sensitive to coal gasification. Also in [61], hydrogen production was estimated for the countries where the number of technological variations is much more diverse.

Sources [62–64] provide excerpts from hydrogen industry development programs for the main countries involved in this process, as well as options for Broad Hydrogen Production Portfolio in different time ranges. In the medium term, it is planned to develop biomass gasification, electrolysis through the use of electricity from wind energy and photovoltaics. In the long run, biohydrogen production is possible; renewable electrolysis; photoelectrochemical solar breakdown of water; solar high temperature thermochemical cycles.
Detailed estimates of the use of hydrogen in order to reduce CO₂ emissions at national and global levels in 2030 and 2050 are given in [65]. According to the authors, by 2050 the hydrogen industry will provide up to 20% of the global reduction in CO₂ emissions. This can be achieved primarily due to hydrogen power generation, hydrogen transport, hydrogen energy industry as well as building heating and power with hydrogen. Thus, it is assumed that by 2030 between 10 and 15 million passenger vehicles and 500,000 trucks will run on hydrogen. By 2050, even more impressive indicators are forecasted — up to 25% passenger vehicles, about 30% trucks and more than 25% of buses will operate on hydrogen. By 2030, there will be more than 5000 hydrogen refuelling stations in the world, according to the announced investments in different countries, summarized as a result of [65]. This process will be most actively developed in the United States, Germany, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, and South Korea. Also it is assumed that by 2030 the demand for hydrogen will increase by 4 million tons, and in 2050 12% of the global energy demand will be determined by hydrogen [65]. According to [66], there will be a significant increase in the consumption of mixed hydrogen by private households. It is projected that by 2050 about 8% of global energy consumption in buildings will come from hydrogen.

The analysis of the potential for future hydrogen demand in oil refining is presented in [4]. In accordance with current trends, it is predicted that the total demand for hydrogen at refineries will increase by 7% by 2030, followed by a slowdown. In this paper, as in [61], it is assumed that steam reforming, even in combination with CO₂ capture technologies, will remain the cheapest way to produce hydrogen. According to [4], hydrogen production in the chemical sector by 2030 will develop quite actively — more than 1.5% per year for ammonium and about 3.5% per year for methanol. Regarding the use of hydrogen for vehicles in [4], it predicts a possible increase in the fleet of hydrogen vehicles — more than 50% for cars and noticeably less for trucks and buses by 2030. Prospects for the use of hydrogen in buildings for heating according to [4] are possible both as an option of mixing it with natural gas and in the form of pure hydrogen, however, this will largely depend on the price of the supplied hydrogen. There is also a table of demand and indicative prices for hydrogen for some countries of the world provided in [4].

A forecast of hydrogen demand in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries up to 2050 is presented in [56]. It is assumed here that in 2040 the total demand for hydrogen in the region will exceed 450 billion Nm³, and by 2050 — more than 1350 billion Nm³. In both cases, China is the leader in demand, with a significant margin in relation to other countries, including the United States. Among other large consumers of hydrogen, in addition to, for example, the traditionally mentioned Japan, Thailand and Vietnam are mentioned. The leader in the field of the transport sector is the United States, and in the sector of power generation and industrial industry — China.

[1] Hydrogen Tools / h2tools.org
[2] Report of the Hydrogen Production Expert Panel: A Subcommittee of the Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee (PDF) / May 2013 / Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Program / U.S. Department of Energy / www.hydrogen.energy.gov
[3] Hydrogen from Renewable Power Technology Outlook For The Energy Transition (PDF) / IRENA / www.irena.org
[4] The Future of Hydrogen Report prepared by the IEA for the G20, Japan Seizing today’s opportunities (PDF) / G 20 2019 Japan / www.g20karuizawa.go.jp    
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