H2Tech - Q2 2021 - 11

REGIONAL REPORT: ASIA-PACIFIC

Japan, Australia forge a path
for Asia-Pacific H2 development
A. BLUME, Editor-in-Chief

Asia-Pacific is forecast to be the fastest-growing region in hydrogen to 2025,
as governments continue to adopt green
technologies to meet national targets for
CO2 emissions reduction. Estimated potential demand for imported H2 in China,
Japan, South Korea and Singapore could
reach $9.5 B by 2030.1 China, in particular,
is in need of reliable, clean backup power
as the growth of renewable energy has
made its electric grid increasingly unstable.
Australia and Japan are two of AsiaPacific's leaders in H2 network develop-

ment, and have established their own
clean energy and carbon emissions
reduction strategies. They have also
signed a joint statement of cooperation
with each other for H2 and fuel cell development.
Fitch Ratings estimated that Asia's
electrolyzer capacity could surpass 10
GW by 2030, although green H2 projects
remain a wild card that could accelerate
this capacity dramatically toward the end
of the decade. The development of green
H2 capacity is closely linked to the abun-

dance of affordable renewable electricity
and the need for backup power. Many
estimates expect that the cost of electrolyzers could halve and allow green H2
to reach market parity with gray (fossilbased) H2 by 2030. Asia-Pacific remains
the fastest-growing region for both energy demand and renewable power growth
over the coming decades.
National initiatives and projects across
Asia-Pacific to produce and incorporate
H2 into the energy mix are discussed in
the following sections.

OPENING PHOTO: Kawasaki Heavy Industries' Suiso Frontier liquefied H2 carrier-the first of its kind-at the Kobe shipyard in late 2020.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
H2Tech | Q2 2021

H2Tech - Q2 2021

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