Hydrogen market needs phased approach

Ensuring harmonised certification and distributed supply vital to success of market, say speakers at the FT Energy Transition Summit

A global market for hydrogen is likely to develop eventually but should be built out in phases, according to speakers at the FT Energy Transition Summit. Opinion in the sector is divided over whether a global trade is likely to develop, due to the difficulties of shipping hydrogen molecules. A recent report from research agency DNV—which tends to be more bearish on hydrogen rollout than other institutions—foresaw little international trade of the fuel, with no pipelines between continents and only 2pc of global volumes travelling on ships by 2050. Some form of trade is likely to happen eventually, but the focus for now should be on local development, according to Ana Quelhas, managing direct