2021年，綠色氫氣項目數量激增

加強公私合作對增加投資至關重要

據今日油價1月5日報道，分析人士和預測機構表示，低碳氫可以在能源密集型產業脫碳、幫助各國減少排放、向凈零排放目標邁進方面發揮關鍵作用。已宣布的綠色氫項目(即那些希望利用可再生能源從電解水中生產氫的項目)數量在過去一年中激增，比2020年宣布的項目數量增加了一倍。

然而，可再生氫在大幅降低成本方面仍面臨著一個艱難曲線，在成為具有競爭力的大規模替代灰氫(由化石燃料制成)或藍氫(使用碳捕獲技術從天然氣中生產)道路上也存在障礙。

氫氣股票降溫

投資者似乎已經意識到，綠色氫能源光明未來仍然依賴于大幅降低成本，并成為一種有競爭力的能源。根據《華爾街日報》編制的FactSet數據，電解槽制氫企業股價在前一年強勁上漲后，在2021年出現了回落。

《華爾街日報》Rochelle Toplensky指出，市場似乎已經意識到，要成為傳統燃料和存儲解決方案有競爭力的大規模替代品，綠氫燃料還有很長的路要走，這仍然取決于政府在部署、需求創造和成本削減方面的激勵和舉措。

綠氫項目正在蓄勢待發

盡管低成本氫燃料制造商在2021年股票表現開始反映出華爾街重新調整的觀點，即綠氫燃料可能需要長達10年時間才能變得具有成本競爭力，但綠氫燃料項目正以有史以來最快的速度發展。

根據全球首席執行官領導的氫理事會(Hydrogen Council) 2021年11月報告，2021年宣布的項目超過520個，比2020年增加了100%。在這些項目中，有221個是大規模工業用途項目，133個是運輸部門項目，74個是綜合氫經濟項目，51個是基礎設施項目，43個是千兆規模的生產項目。

根據氫能委員會的說法，這種燃料對于實現凈零排放至關重要，因為到2050年它可以減少800億噸二氧化碳，對實現脫碳能源系統至關重要。

清潔氫需要更多投資和政策支持

然而，在這十年中，規模也將是關鍵，投資也將是關鍵，因為在凈零情況下仍需要5000億美元額外投資。該委員會表示，更密切的公私合作對增加投資至關重要，因為到2030年，需要將投資增加四倍，才能使世界走上實現凈零軌道。

康明斯董事長兼首席執行官、氫理事會聯合主席Tom Linebarger在評論該報告時表示:“氫投資勢頭明顯，但要實現如此大規模轉變，需要通過強有力的伙伴關系和政策支持，前所未有地調動公共和私人資源”。

國際能源署(IEA)在10月發布《2021年全球氫能源評估報告》(Global hydrogen Review 2021)中表示，清潔氫能源需要更多承諾和投資，才能實現成本降低和在各個行業的使用。

國際能源署表示，“各國政府需要更快、更果斷地采取一系列政策措施，使低碳氫能夠發揮潛力，幫助世界實現凈零排放，同時支持能源安全”。

IEA執行董事法提赫·比羅爾（Fatih Birol）表示，“我們之前在氫燃料方面有過失敗的開始，所以我們不能想當然地認為成功。但這一次，我們看到在使氫更清潔、更便宜、更可用于不同經濟部門方面取得了令人振奮的進展”。

該機構表示，政府和私人對氫能源的投資仍遠低于使該行業在2050年達到凈零所需的資金。各國已承諾提供至少370億美元，私營部門已宣布投資3000億美元。然而，國際能源署指出，到2050年實現零碳排放需要1.2萬億美元投資，用于低碳氫的供應和使用，直至2030年。

綠色氫燃料什么時候才具有成本競爭力?

據該機構稱，低碳氫燃料將在未來十年內變得具有競爭力。伍德曼肯茲氫研究分析師吉特·范·多爾斯滕（Bridget van Dorsten）上月表示，到2030年，綠氫在一些主要市場將具有競爭力，其中巴西和智利是領先者。

他表示，目前，綠氫能源在全球能源市場上份額很小，與化石燃料替代能源相比，在很大程度上仍然缺乏競爭力。

伍德曼肯茲表示，由于一系列因素，包括規模經濟、市場新進入者、更高的自動化程度和模塊化程度，預計到2025年電解器資本支出將顯著下降。

伍德曼肯茲認為，當低碳綠氫成本在主要市場上變得具有競爭力時，氫的真正游戲規則改變時刻將到來。

多爾斯滕指出，“然而，凈零野心背后的動力意味著投資者押注于其長期潛力”。

可再生氫有機會成為全球能源市場一種改變游戲規則的替代燃料。

王佳晶 摘譯自 今日油價

原文如下：

Will Hydrogen Finally Live Up To The Hype?

The number of green hydrogen projects soared in 2021

Closer public-private collaboration is critical to increasing investments

Low-carbon hydrogen could play a crucial role in the decarbonization of energy-intensive industries and in helping nations to reduce emissions and move closer to their net-zero emission targets, analysts and forecasting agencies say. The number of announced green hydrogen projects—those looking to produce hydrogen from water electrolysis using renewable energy—has soared over the past year, doubling from the number of projects announced in 2020. 

Renewable hydrogen, however, still faces a steep learning curve for significant cost reductions as well as roadblocks on the path to becoming a competitive large-scale alternative to grey hydrogen, made from fossil fuels, or blue hydrogen produced from natural gas using carbon capture.  

Hydrogen Stocks Cool 

Investors have seemed to realize that the bright future for green hydrogen still depends on achieving significant cost reductions and becoming a competitive energy source. Shares in electrolyzer hydrogen-producing companies retreated in 2021, following a blistering rally in the previous year, according to FactSet data compiled by The Wall Street Journal.

The market seems to have realized that green hydrogen still has a long way to go to become a competitive large-scale alternative to traditional fuels and storage solutions, and still depends on government incentives and initiatives for deployment, demand creation, and cost reductions, the Journal’s Rochelle Toplensky notes. 

But Green Hydrogen Projects Gather Momentum

While the stock performance of low-cost hydrogen makers in 2021 has started to reflect the Street’s recalibrated view that it could take green hydrogen up to a decade to become cost-competitive, green hydrogen projects are being announced at the fastest pace ever seen. 

More than 520 projects were announced in 2021, up by 100 percent compared to 2020, according to a November 2021 report by the Hydrogen Council, a global CEO-led initiative. As many as 221 of those projects are for large-scale industrial usage, 133 in the transport sector, 74 in the integrated hydrogen economy, 51 are infrastructure projects, and 43 are giga-scale production projects, the Council said in its ‘Hydrogen for Net-Zero’ report. 

According to the Hydrogen Council, the fuel is central to reaching net-zero emissions because it can abate 80 gigatons of CO2 by 2050 and is critical in enabling a decarbonized energy system.

Clean Hydrogen Needs More Investment, Policy Support

However, scaling will also be critical this decade, as will be investments because half a trillion U.S. dollars in additional investment is still needed in net-zero scenarios. 

Closer public-private collaboration is critical to increasing investments because a fourfold increase is required by 2030 to put the world on the trajectory to Net Zero, the Council says. 

“There is clear momentum in hydrogen investments, but a transformation of such magnitude requires unprecedented mobilisation of public and private resources through strong partnerships and policy support,” said Tom Linebarger, Chairman and CEO of Cummins and Co-Chair of the Hydrogen Council, commenting on the report. 

Clean hydrogen needs more pledges and investments in order to see cost reductions and usage in various industries, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its Global Hydrogen Review 2021 in October. 

“Governments need to move faster and more decisively on a wide range of policy measures to enable low-carbon hydrogen to fulfill its potential to help the world reach net zero emissions while supporting energy security,” the IEA said. 

“We have experienced false starts before with hydrogen, so we can’t take success for granted. But this time, we are seeing exciting progress in making hydrogen cleaner, more affordable and more available for use across different sectors of the economy,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director.  

Government and private investment in hydrogen are still way below the capital necessary to put the sector on track for net-zero by 2050, the agency says. Countries have committed at least $37 billion, and the private sector has announced $300 billion in investment. Yet, net-zero by 2050 requires $1.2 trillion of investment in low-carbon hydrogen supply and use through to 2030, the IEA notes. 

When Will Green Hydrogen Become Cost Competitive?

According to the agency, low-carbon hydrogen can become competitive within the next decade. 

Green hydrogen can be competitive in some major markets by 2030, with Brazil and Chile front-runners, Bridget van Dorsten, Hydrogen Research Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said last month. 

Currently, green hydrogen has a small share of the global energy market and is still largely uncompetitive against fossil-fuelled alternatives, van Dorsten says. 

Electrolyzer capex is expected to significantly decline by 2025, due to a range of factors, including economies of scale, new entrants to the market, greater automation, and increased modularity, according to Wood Mackenzie. 

The real game-changer for hydrogen will come when low-carbon green hydrogen costs become competitive in major markets, WoodMac reckons. 

“However, the momentum behind net zero ambitions means that investors are betting on its long-term potential,” van Dorsten noted.  

Renewable hydrogen has the chance to become an alternative game-changer fuel for the global energy market, but it has to overcome several barriers before that.