China expected to be world’s largest importer of clean hydrogen, Deloitte says as it urges world to scale up production capacity by 2050

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China is estimated to be the world’s largest importer of clean hydrogen, requiring 13 million tonnes a year by 2030, Deloitte report says

Asia-Pacific will capture almost 55 per cent of the clean energy market in 2030, driven by demand in China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Korea: Deloitte executive

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The view from a ferry on the Huangpu River in Shanghai. China’s strong reliance on clean hydrogen imports will continue until the country eventually becomes nearly self sufficient between 2050 and 2060, Deloitte says. Photo: Bloomberg

Yujie Xuein Shenzhen

Published: 6:40pm, 8 Jun 2023

China is expected to be the world’s largest importer of clean hydrogen, requiring 13 million tonnes of imported hydrogen a year by 2030 due to the huge amount of clean energy required to decarbonise its different sectors, according to a report released by Deloitte on Thursday.

Europe’s demand will amount to 10 million tonnes, followed by the 7.5 million tonnes demanded by Japan and Korea, said Will Symons, sustainability and climate leader at Deloitte Asia-Pacific.

“Our research suggests that Asia-Pacific will capture almost 55 per cent of the [clean energy] market in 2030, driven by skyrocketing demand in China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Korea,” he said.

A strong reliance on clean hydrogen imports will continue in China until the country eventually becomes nearly self sufficient between 2050 – when China’s clean hydrogen market reaches US$265 billion per year – and 2060, the year China plans to achieve carbon neutrality, Dr Pradeep Philip, lead partner at the Deloitte Economics Institute.

Will Symons, sustainability and climate leader at Deloitte Asia-Pacific. Photo: Handout

Deloitte said that the world needs to accelerate its embrace of clean hydrogen and scale up production capacity to meet an expected surge in demand created by the global need to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and tackle climate change.