Discussions around the use of hydrogen for energy are rapidly growing, with mentions of the resource having already risen by 21% in company filings this year* compared to 2020, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Rinaldo Pereira, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Companies consider hydrogen to be the next step in renewable energy, with sentiments around this fuel source having remained above the 0.8 range** since Q3 2020. Moreover, there have been multiple peaks in the mentions of ‘Hydrogen’ in March and May 2021. In terms of other related keywords, ‘Fuel Cell’ is the top technology that companies are focusing on to achieve carbon neutrality.”

Companies from the power industry accounted for 64% of hydrogen mentions between 2016 and 2021. GlobalData expects global hydrogen production from renewable energy or natural gas with carbon capture to increase by over 20 times by 2030.

Pereira adds: “‘Carbon Emissions’, ‘Emissions Reduction’ and ‘Climate Change’ are key sustainability themes being discussed around hydrogen. Furthermore, hydrogen as a theme has been gaining investor traction. The number of analysts and broker firms covering stocks discussing hydrogen saw a huge rise in 2020, and 2021 is already ahead compared to last year.”

Oil & gas and automotive companies accounted for 28% and 8% of hydrogen mentions between 2016 and 2021, respectively. Chevron Corp, Exxon Mobil and Toyota Motor are some of the top companies discussing hydrogen as a theme in 2021 for clean energy transitions.

Bakar Sadik Agwan, Senior Automotive Consulting Analyst at GlobalData, suggests that turning hydrogen into a mass commercial success in the automotive sector is easier said than done, as companies are already struggling with electric vehicle adoption for commercial vehicles.

* Until 30 September 2021

** Sentiment scores close to 1 are considered highly positive