By Nam Hyun-woo
Hydrogen will be a new key energy source for future vehicles and digital technologies, powering up to 1.5 million autonomous taxis by 2030, according to a McKinsey report, Thursday.
The report was announced at the Global Hydrogen Leaders Forum in San Francisco, the third annual event of the Hydrogen Council. It is an initiative of leaders of global companies to drive large-scale commercialization of hydrogen worldwide, and is co-chaired by Hyundai Motor Company.
According to the report, energy demand for ICT is expected to double by 2050 and hydrogen will be essential in handling the demand, because of its high energy density and fast recharging. Hydrogen will be well suited for powering large, heavy or aerial vehicles, the report added.
It assumed hydrogen technologies could power up to 1.5 million autonomous taxis, 700,000 autonomous shuttles, 8,000 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) taxis and 3.6 million delivery trucks by 2030.
Also the world's annual hydrogen demand will grow to 7 million tons and the use of 6.4 million fuel cells by 2030, according to the report.
"The Hydrogen Council's third CEO event is a testament to how far we have come since the launch of this initiative about 18 months ago," Yang Woong-chul, co-chair of the Hydrogen Council and Hyundai Motor Company vice chairman, said in a statement.
"More than 50 top industry leaders are here today to show hydrogen has a role to play and we need to act now to get it to scale and truly enable the energy transition. This transition needs to be sustainable environmentally, financially and socially, and hydrogen will help ensure it ticks all those boxes."
Attendees at this year's event included Audi AG Head of Sustainability Peter Tropschuh, BMW Group Senior Vice President Gerd Schuster and a many other executives from leading multinationals.