The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has conducted a survey revealing that Morocco is among the countries best placed to become the main producers of hydrogen which will have the power to influence prices, given the support policies and the availability of renewable energies. He made the top 5 alongside Australia, Chile, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Quoted by the Financial Times, the IRENA report estimates that soaring gas prices in Europe might also accelerate the transition to clean energy and the adoption of green hydrogen as an alternative to oil and gas. Made from water and using renewable electricity, this material is attracting the interest of many countries that want to reduce their emissions to net zero by 2050.
Fossil fuel producers might also switch to hydrogen production. This is the case of Saudi Arabia, which seeks to become “the cheapest producer of green hydrogen in the world”, in particular to end its dependence on oil and gas. The Financial Times recalls that “green hydrogen is produced from renewable electricity and blue hydrogen is produced from natural gas”. To achieve climate objectives, the second form must be combined with carbon capture, in order to limit the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.
On the other hand, the market would develop in a “more regional than global” dynamic and many countries would be able to produce the manufactured gas. Therefore, “profits are unlikely to reach the levels traditionally enjoyed by oil and gas producers.” The same source indicated that hydrogen might supply 12% of the world’s energy needs, by 2050, if emissions were reduced significantly to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
IRENA expects the emergence of a “new mapping of energy geopolitics” and a revamped “hydrogen diplomacy” as production increases around the world, and especially in the countries mainly concerned. Around the world, countries known to be the biggest energy consumers (USA, China, EU, Japan, India and South Korea), have already made hydrogen a major component of their energy plans.