Climate change and the energy transition have made research and development (R&D) in clean energy a priority as countries aim to reach net-zero by 2050. Hydrogen has been categorically singled out as a possible source of energy in the not-too-distant future. Indeed, hydrogen has been widely used in many applications, including in refining ammonia and petroleum, and the production of methanol and synthetic fuels which have more emissions. These applications accounted for more than 93% of global hydrogen consumption in 2020.
In the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), hydrogen, mostly grey hydrogen, is utilised mainly in manufacturing processes, for fertiliser in agriculture, in methanol production, the steel industry, and in oil refineries. However, most hydrogen in use in the world today is not "green" hydrogen -- that is, it is not generated by renewable energy or from low-carbon power, which has significantly lower carbon emissions than grey hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas by steam reformation.
