The Periodic Table of Scarcity and Abundance H Hydrogen
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Hydrogen: How we get it

How much do we make each year, and how?

The world made and used about 103 million tonnes of hydrogen in 2025, mostly from natural gas and coal at the plants that use it. China makes almost 30%. About 1% came from low-emission routes.

Last updated 3 October 2026.

How much is produced

Production

103million tonnes a year1

2025. Total hydrogen made on purpose, pure and in mixed gases (IEA demand total, 103 Mt H2 in 2025). IEA reports that production is co-located with demand, so demand and production are almost equal. Excludes hydrogen in residual gases burned for heat. IRENA gives about 95 Mt a year (2024 report); in a 2019 review, the DOE found published world estimates of 65 to 100 Mt, depending on whether by-product hydrogen is counted.

Production over time
0 20 40 60 1980 1990 2000 2010
Mt. World demand for pure hydrogen (refining, ammonia, other), the sum of the three IEA categories. Excludes hydrogen in mixed gases (methanol, steel), so it is lower than the 103 Mt total for 2025. 2018 is an IEA estimate2
Show the numbers
YearMt
197518.2
198024.5
198530.4
199035.3
199539.8
200052.5
200554.1
201062.4
201571.7
201873.9

The IEA counts hydrogen by demand. World demand passed 100 million tonnes for the first time in 2025, at about 103 million tonnes. That was almost 3% more than in 20241. Production is almost the same number, because most hydrogen is made at the site that uses it3.

Other estimates are lower. IRENA put world production at about 95 million tonnes a year in 20244. In a 2019 review, the US Department of Energy found estimates from 65 to 100 million tonnes. The estimates differ in part because of whether their authors count by-product hydrogen5.

Demand has grown for decades. The IEA’s series for pure hydrogen rose from about 18 million tonnes in 1975 to about 74 million tonnes in 20182. Hydrogen in mixed gases is not in that series. The only fall in recent decades was in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic1.

Low-emission hydrogen grew 20% in 2025 to almost 1 million tonnes. About 0.7 million tonnes of it came from fossil fuels with carbon capture1. Low-emission hydrogen was still less than 1% of all production1. The IEA expects close to 1.2 million tonnes in 20261.

Who produces it

Production by country and region
China 30%
North America 16%
Middle East 14%
India 10%
Europe 7%
Rest of the world 23%
2025. Share of world hydrogen demand in 2025 (GHR 2026 p. 44; China is 'almost 30%'). IEA reports production mirrors demand because there is little trade (GHR 2025 p. 80). IEA gives the other large producers only as regions. On p. 45 the IEA gives 15% for the Middle East in the text and 14% in the chart. Rest of World is 22% to 23%1

The IEA reports hydrogen by region. In 2025 China used almost 30% of the world’s hydrogen. North America used 16%, the Middle East 14%, India 10% and Europe 7%1. Production shares are almost the same, because there is little trade3. The IEA calls India the world’s third-largest hydrogen producer1. The United States makes about 10 million tonnes a year5.

The producers are mostly the users: refineries, ammonia plants, methanol plants and steelworks. In refineries in 2025, 44% of the hydrogen was made on site from fossil fuels. Another 36% was a by-product of other refinery processes, and 20% was bought1. We found no ranking of hydrogen producers by company in the sources we read.

Electrolysis capacity doubled in 2025 to more than 4 gigawatts. China built nearly three quarters of the new capacity, including the largest plant in the world, 500 megawatts at Chifeng1.

How it is mined and refined

Most hydrogen is made by heating natural gas with steam6. This is steam methane reforming. It splits methane and water into hydrogen and carbon oxides. Coal gasification makes hydrogen from coal, mostly in China7.

Electrolysis splits water into hydrogen and oxygen with electricity6. Carbon capture can be added to gas and coal plants. In 2025, about 60% of the hydrogen from fossil plants with carbon capture came from gas reforming. The rest came from coal and oil gasification1.

The routes differ in how much of the input energy ends up in the hydrogen. The IEA assumes these shares for 2025, by lower heating value. Gas reforming has 76%, or 69% with carbon capture. Coal gasification has 60%, and electrolysis 63%8.

Most hydrogen is used where it is made. Only small amounts travel by truck or pipeline1.

What it costs to produce

In 2025, hydrogen from natural gas or coal without carbon capture cost from less than USD 1 to more than USD 4 per kilogram. The cost depends mostly on the fuel price1. It was lowest in North America and the Middle East1. Carbon capture adds USD 0.4 to more than USD 1 per kilogram1.

Hydrogen from electrolysis with renewable power cost from just over USD 3 to well above USD 10 per kilogram1. Only China reached the low end1. An electrolyser cost USD 1,920 to 2,500 per kilowatt worldwide, and USD 550 to 1,100 in China8.

The IEA counts 22 million tonnes a year of announced low-emission projects at risk. If investment decisions do not come by early 2027, these projects may not start by 20301.

Recycling

End-of-life recycling

0%9

End-of-life recycling rate given as 0% for ammonia, refining and methanol uses. Hydrogen is used up in chemical reactions and leaves as water, ammonia products or fuels.

Hydrogen is not recycled at the end of a product’s life. In the UK 2024 criticality assessment, the authors give an end-of-life recycling rate of 0% for its use in ammonia and refining9. In those uses the hydrogen becomes part of a new molecule: ammonia, fuels, methanol and, in the end, water.

Inside refineries, by-product hydrogen from one unit is used in another. This is reuse within the plant. It supplied 36% of refinery hydrogen in 20251.

Sources

  1. 1

    International Energy Agency, 2026. Global Hydrogen Review 2026 , Executive summary pp. 9-14; Middle East effects p. 21; Box 1.1 p. 20; targets p. 31; geological hydrogen pp. 36-42; demand pp. 44-57; transport p. 62; production pp. 83-85, 106; costs pp. 110-116; RED transposition p. 133; trade p. 143; policy p. 194; definitions pp. 257-258.

    Hydrogen demand, production routes, costs, emissions, trade and natural hydrogen for 2025.

    • Global hydrogen demand surpassed 100 Mt for the first time in 2025 ... 103 Mt H2
    • Global hydrogen demand grew almost 3% in 2025 to surpass 100 Mt for the first time … 103 Mt H2
    • a decades-long trend only interrupted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
    • Low-emissions hydrogen production grew by 20% in 2025 to reach almost 1 Mt … global production of low-emissions hydrogen from fossil-based pathways reached 0.7 Mt in 2025
    • still represents less than 1% of total production
    • low-emissions hydrogen production could increase by 30%, reaching close to 1.2 Mt
    • Hydrogen use by region, 2025 Rest of World 22% ... Europe 7% ... India 10% ... China 30% ... Middle East 14% North America 16%
    • China 30% … Middle East 14% North America 16% … India 10% … Europe 7%
    • India, the world’s third-largest hydrogen producer
    • dedicated production onsite in refineries using unabated fossil fuels (44%), and hydrogen obtained as a by-product in processes (36%) … the procurement of merchant hydrogen … made up the remaining 20%
    • Global installed electrolysis capacity doubled in 2025 to exceed 4 GW, with China behind nearly three-quarters of new installations … the world’s largest electrolysis project (500 MW) in Chifeng
    • Around 60% of this output was produced via natural gas reforming, while the remainder originated from coal and oil gasification
    • hydrogen is mainly produced and consumed on-site, with only limited volumes transported by truck or pipeline
    • Hydrogen production cost using unabated fossil fuel-based routes ranged between less than USD 1/kg H2 and more than USD 4/kg H2 in 2025, depending on the cost of the feedstock
    • The lowest costs occurred in North America and the Middle East
    • increases costs from USD 0.4/kg H2 to more than USD 1/kg H2
    • from over USD 3/kg H2 to values that can reach well above USD 10/kg H2
    • this has been the case only in China
    • 22 Mt of potential production in announced projects that may lose any chance to begin operation by 2030 if investment decisions are not taken by early 2027
    • hydrogen obtained as a by-product in processes (36%)
  2. 2

    International Energy Agency, 2019. Global demand for pure hydrogen, 1975-2018 , Chart data (columns: year; refining; ammonia; other).

    Demand for pure hydrogen by use, every five years from 1975.

    • 1975;6.2;10.877;1.077
    • 1975;6.2;10.877;1.077 … 2018e;38.243;31.458;4.188
  3. 3

    International Energy Agency, 2025. Global Hydrogen Review 2025 , pp. 42, 80, 112, 218.

    Production in 2024, refining uses and the US 45V deadline.

    • production remains largely co-located with demand, with minimal international trade today
    • regional output mirrors consumption patterns, with China accounting for almost 30% of global hydrogen
  4. 4

    International Renewable Energy Agency and World Trade Organization, 2024. Enabling global trade in renewable hydrogen and derivative commodities , Introduction; Market overviews (hydrogen, ammonia).

    World hydrogen production of about 95 Mt a year and emissions of about 1.3 Gt CO2-eq.

    • global hydrogen production stands at around 95 megatons per year
  5. 5

    Congressional Research Service, 2024. Hydrogen Production: Overview and Issues for Congress (R48196) , Summary; pp. 2-4 and Figure 1; pp. 14-18.

    World production estimates and route shares from US DOE; the 45V tax credit, the hydrogen hubs and the debate in Congress.

    • annual global production to be between 65 and 100 MMT; the estimates vary in part due to variations in whether and to what extent the estimates include byproduct hydrogen
    • approximately 99% of the 10 MMT of hydrogen produced annually in the United States is sourced from fossil fuels
  6. 6

    Royal Society of Chemistry, 2026. Hydrogen: element information, properties and uses .

    History, uses and biological role.

    • Most hydrogen is produced by heating natural gas with steam
    • Hydrogen can also be produced by the electrolysis of water
  7. 7

    International Energy Agency, 2024. Global Hydrogen Review 2024 , p. 61 (production by route); p. 203 (emissions intensities).

    Shares of natural gas, coal and by-product hydrogen in 2023, and emissions per kilogram by route.

    • unabated coal gasification accounted for 20% of the global total in 2023, and is predominantly located in China
  8. 8

    International Energy Agency, 2026. Global Hydrogen Review 2026: Assumptions Annex , Production pathways table, hydrogen.

    Efficiency and capital cost of electrolysis, gas reforming and coal gasification.

    • Efficiency (LHV) … 76% … 69% … 60% … 63%
    • 1920 - 2500 … 550 - 1100
  9. 9

    UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, British Geological Survey, 2024. UK 2024 Criticality Assessment , Table 1 p. 9; scope p. 11; Hydrogen (natural) rows pp. 125, 152.

    The 34 UK critical minerals; natural hydrogen assessed as a candidate.

    • Natural hydrogen ... Ammonia production 55 0 ... Petroleum refining 25 0
    • Natural hydrogen … Ammonia production 55 0 … Petroleum refining 25 0