Industry Insights

FORESIGHT Climate & Energy

Linde FORESIGHT Partnership
Since 2016, FORESIGHT has been an essential read on the energy transition – specializing in long-form investigative journalism on the decarbonization of the economy. Our collaboration amplifies Linde’s role as advocates of the energy transition in an independent forum where perspectives, ideas and innovation collide to fast-track the decarbonization of society. This partnership is in alignment with our mission of making the world more productive, sustainably.

To access the latest articles and interviews, visit Foresight Climate & Energy

• Hydrogen Insights 2022
  The urgency to ramp up investment in industrial-scale hydrogen energy projects is greater than ever, says a new report published today by the Hydrogen Council. Developed in collaboration with global consultancy McKinsey & Company, the report, Hydrogen Insights 2022, highlights 680 large-scale* hydrogen project proposals have been announced, totaling US$240 billion in direct investment between now and 2030 – an increase of 50% since November 2021 alone.

• Global Hydrogen Flows 
  Global Hydrogen Flows, co-authored with McKinsey & Company, finds: Hydrogen and its derivatives will become heavily traded: 400 out of the 660 million tons (MT) of hydrogen needed for carbon neutrality by 2050 will be transported over long distances, with 190 MT crossing international borders. In a cost-optimal world, around 50% of trade uses pipelines, while synthetic fuels, ammonia and sponge iron, transported on ships, account for approximately 45%. Europe and countries in the Far East will rely on imports, while North America and China are mostly self-reliant. Trade has huge benefits: It can lower the cost of hydrogen supply by 25%, or as much as US$6 trillion of investments from now until 2050. This will accelerate the hydrogen transition, which can abate 80 gigatons of CO2 until 2050.

• Hydrogen Decarbonization Pathways
  Given that hydrogen is one of the keys to the energy transition, it is not only important to make it economically viable, but also to maximize the decarbonization impact and minimize its resource requirements. As the hydrogen momentum accelerates, it is increasingly clear that decision makers must put the focus on decarbonization to ensure hydrogen can fulfil its potential as a key solution in the global clean energy transition, making a significant contribution to net zero emissions.

• Path to Hydrogen Competitiveness: A Cost Perspective
  As scale up of hydrogen production, distribution, equipment and component manufacturing continues, cost is projected to decrease by up to 50% by 2030 for a wide range of applications, making hydrogen competitive with other low-carbon alternatives and, in some cases, even conventional options.

• Hydrogen Insights 2021
  Hydrogen Council, in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, published an updated perspective on hydrogen investment, market development and momentum in China. A growing number of countries have committed to decarbonization targets and large-scale clean hydrogen projects have been announced, amounting to over ten million tons of total capacity by 2030 or about a third of total clean hydrogen demand growth expected in the next decade.

• Hydrogen Valleys. Insights into the emerging hydrogen economies around the world
  Clean hydrogen is universally considered an important energy vector in the global efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions to the "well below 2 °C scenario", as agreed by more than 190 states in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Hydrogen Valleys – regional ecosystems that link hydrogen production, transportation, and various end uses such as mobility or industrial feedstock – are important steps towards enabling the development of a new hydrogen economy.
• Hydrogen-powered aviation
  The study found that hydrogen – as a primary energy source for propulsion, either for fuel cells, direct burn in thermal (gas turbine) engines or as a building block for synthetic liquid fuels – could feasibly power aircraft with entry into service by 2035 for short-range aircraft. Costing less than €18 [$20] extra per person on a short-range flight, and reducing climate impact by 50 to 90%, hydrogen could play a central role in the future mix of aircraft and propulsion technologies.

• Expectations for the fuel cell truck market
  In order to meet end user needs, the fuel cell truck market will need to scale-up from the limited deployments seen today to a pan-European system capable of serving tens of thousands of trucks. This whitepaper sets out the expectations for the development of the fuel cell truck market in Europe as it scales up in the years leading up to 2030. Three deployment phases are envisaged, that will result in the mass market deployment of fuel cell trucks and the required supporting infrastructure for long-haul, heavy-duty transport in the following decades.
• The need for hydrogen trucking
  Hydrogen will play a key role in decarbonizing energy systems, and is the only zero emissions fuel that is able to meet operator needs in certain heavy duty trucking applications. This paper discusses the role of hydrogen in facilitating rapid and enhanced renewable energy deployment, and the need for hydrogen as the only zero-emission fuel in the heavy-duty trucking sector which can provide a combination of fast refueling and very long range between refuels.