Hydrogen electrolyzers latest star export item

China, celebrated for its strides in sectors such as electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic technologies, is now on the brink of embracing yet another major potential export product in the realm of new energy products — hydrogen electrolyzers.

Hydrogen electrolyzers use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. For decades, the hydrogen electrolyzer, a technology entrenched in China's industrial landscape, primarily served domestic sectors like glassmaking and steel, with only limited export orders.

However, as the global appetite for green hydrogen escalates, a transformative shift is underway. Chinese hydrogen electrolyzer exports are experiencing an unprecedented surge, propelled by booming demand for sustainable solutions in Europe and the Middle East, catapulting this once niche equipment onto the international stage, executives and analysts said.

Beijing Peric Hydrogen Technologies Co, a manufacturer of hydrogen electrolyzers, has seen its export revenue double for three consecutive years due to surging global demand, said Li Haipeng, the company's marketing director.

The company's export value of hydrogen electrolyzers reached approximately 70 million yuan ($9.8 million) in 2021, followed by a surge to around 170 million yuan in 2022 and a further jump to nearly 300 million yuan in 2023, Li said, adding that over the next 10 years, order volumes are expected to be over 10 times current levels.

Shandong Saikesaisi Hydrogen Energy Co expects its overseas revenue to overtake domestic performance by the end of this year. Looking beyond the immediate horizon, a bold prediction emerges as a potential reality — a growth surge of several magnitudes in the entire foreign market following a five-year development period.

Rewind the clock two decades and it would have been hard to imagine the vibrant export situation that China's hydrogen electrolyzer industry now commands, Li said, as the international market size was only around 500-600 million yuan back then.

The explosive growth in China's hydrogen electrolyzer exports can be traced back to the recent surge in global demand for green hydrogen, according to industry experts.

The International Energy Agency recently said that amid pathways to realizing net-zero emissions by 2050, global hydrogen demand is projected to climb to 528 million metric tons by the middle of the century.

In particular, the report said that around 60 percent of this hydrogen will be produced through water electrolysis, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the world's total electricity supply.

As countries and industries increasingly seek to decarbonize their operations, the need for high-performance, cost-effective hydrogen production solutions has skyrocketed — and China's electrolyzer manufacturers have been quick to capitalize on this global trend, said Yu Zhuoping, director of the expert committee for China Hydrogen Alliance.

To accommodate more overseas orders, Chinese electrolyzer manufacturers are proactively scaling up their production capabilities.