Metal Hydride Market

Market Overview

The global metal hydride market is estimated to be valued at around USD 4.8 billion by the year 2026 at a CAGR of about 7.2%. 

Metal hydrides are any hydrogen compound that is bonded to another metal element. The bond is covalent in nature, however, some hydrides are formed from ionic bonds. Metal hydrides are a division of materials containing either metal or a metalloid bonded to hydrogen. The most common examples of metal hydrides are aluminum, boron, lithium borohydride, and various salts.

Metal hydrides are mainly formed by one of the four synthesis process hydride transfer, a metathesis reaction, elimination reaction — the elimination of beta-hydride and alpha-hydride, oxidative addition transition of dihydrogen to a low valent metal. Heterolytic cleavage of dihydrogen is also used, where hydrides are formed when metal complexes are treated with hydrogen in the presence of a base.

Segmental Analysis

The global metal hydride market is segmented by metal hydride and application.

On the Basis of Betal Hydride

The alloys metal hydride segment is expected to hold the largest share among other metal hydride segments during the forecast period, owing to the high export value of niobium, vanadium, and zirconium ore. Besides, intermetallic compounds exhibit extensive use in heterogeneous catalysis. However, complex metal hydrides are expected to grow with a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period. Complex metal hydrides are an evolving class of metal hydrides, extensively employed in an array of applications, especially in the energy storage domain.

On the Basis of Application

The market is segmented into hydrogen storage, NiMH batteries, fuel cell, heat pumps, thermal storage, hydrogen compressor, others. The hydrogen storage segment is expected to hold the strongest share during the forecast period. As the major role of metal hydride is related to the hydrogen storage segment.

Regional Analysis

Geographically, the global metal hydride market is studied across North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America and the Middle East & Africa.

Asia-Pacific is expected to hold significant share for the global metal hydride market during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is home to emerging economies, which are transforming into attractive hubs for international companies to set up their business operations and R&D laboratories in countries such as India, China, Singapore, Malaysia, among others. Some of the prominent countries in Asia-Pacific such as South Korea, India, China, Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia are actively engaged in investing and fulfilling their energy needs through renewable and clean energy sources. According to Recap Data, around 11% of China’s energy needs are met by renewable energy sources. Moreover, it is projected that China and India’s energy demands will rise by 5.5% and 6% respectively. Use of hydrogen to fulfill these power demands is expected to engender higher consumption of metal hydrides. Focus on clean energy mission combined with economic growth are some of the potential growth drivers accelerating the Asia-Pacific metal hydride market.

Europe is expected to drive the market growth with a CAGR of 5.6% during the forecast period. Europe is anticipated to witness healthy growth, owing to the increasing adoption of renewable energy resources. For instance, renewable energy sources accounted for around 86% of the European power installations in 2016. As per Eurostat, Europe is one of the leading regions pouring R&D investments in the renewable energy sector, with over 31% of the invested amount sponsored by the government. Moreover, Europe is the primary importer of energy resources; the majority of its energy needs are met by importing power generating sources from other economies. For instance, around 54% of its energy needs are accomplished by imports consisting of natural gas, petroleum products, and solid fuels.

North America is expected to witness considerable growth during the forecasted period owing to the flourishment of the automotive and transportation sector. The U.S. is at the forefront of innovations and is one of the largest investors of R&D for strengthening the transportation and automotive sector. According to SelectUSA, light-vehicle sales in the U.S. reached over 17.2 million units in 2018. Furthermore, as per Auto Alliance, of the USD 105 billion global R&D valuation, around 17% of the global total R&D amount is spent in the U.S. Besides, increasing usage of hydrogen fuels is expected to propel the regional metal hydride market growth. Moreover, Canada is also substantially contributing to the metal hydrides market growth. Canada is essentially a trade-based economy, which compels the country to enhance its transportation infrastructure. This has resulted in the Canadian government to invest around USD 10.1 billion in the trade & transportation projects over the next decade.

The LAMEA region is expected to observe considerable growth during the forecast period. Latin America has been making significant strides toward renewable energy generation; paving the way for efficient energy storage solutions. The Middle East and North Africa region account for nearly 35% of the global oil & gas production, which is now emphasizing on becoming a greener economy. Furthermore, at the forefront of this development is the UAE, which has plans of generating at least 75% of its energy with clean sources by 2050. To fulfill this vision, the country has invested around USD 13000 million in various projects pertaining to clean energy generation thereby driving the regional market growth.

Recent Developments

For instance, in 2017, Fisher Scientific (Thermo Fisher Scientific) acquired Finesse Solution, which develops scalable control automation systems and software for production.

Metal Hydride Market Segmentation

By Metal Hydride

• Alloys

  • Solid Solutions
  • Intermetallic Compounds
    • AB₅
    • AB₂
    • AB
    • A₂B
    • Others
  • Others

• Complexes

  • Transition Metals (TM)
  • Non-TM
    • Borohydrides
    • Aluminates
    • Other

  • Other

By Application

• Hydrogen storage
• NiMH batteries
• Fuel cell
• Heat Pumps
• Thermal storage
• Hydrogen Compressors
• Others (Purification, Refrigeration, Heat pumps, Activators, Isotope Separation)

By Region

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa