1 reply to this topic

[reckless]

Hi,

I'm a graduating ChE student from the Philippines and my groupmates and I currently started designing a plant about Large-Scale Production of Hydrogen from Waste Waters. As a part of the design, we need to know the market and the demand of hydrogen in the World especially in the Philippines ( if there is available data about this) because we planned to operate the plant here.

We started modeling the demand based on researches from the United States but we're afraid that it wouldn't be realistic since US has a different economic status compared to the Philippines. We weren't also able to find any data about the market status of hydrogen over the net. What do you suggest we should do? Thank you very much.

[Art Montemayor]

Reckless:

If you can produce competitively-priced, pure Hydrogen using waste waters as your raw materials (which I seriously doubt), then more power to you. However, I am confused as to why you should concern yourself with "the demand of hydrogen in the World". You are going to succeed in the Hydrogen production business by selling it at a profit within the Philippines - period. The rest of the world market doesn't enter into your business equation - unless you have devised an ingenious method or technique to distribute Hydrogen at a minimal distribution cost - which I doubt even more seriously!

What you state doesn't make engineering or business sense. If your raw material is waste water, then you would take your arcane and secret process to the other countries and use local waste water (which are abundant there too) to do what you would do in the Philippines - not produce the Hydrogen in the Philippines, liquefy it(?), ship it, obtain import permits in other countries, erect $Billion reception terminals, and distribute it in foreign countries. That kind of market plan will make you un-financiable (you won't get loans or finance) because your ultimate selling price will be too expensive and risky. Producing the Hydrogen locally would always be the first option.

And if you succeed in producing low-price, pure Hydrogen then you will create new consumers and the so-called "world demand" for your product will increase and all the market data that you based yourself on at the onset will be erroneous or useless. What I am trying to point out is that the consumption of Hydrogen as a fuel source (which is what I believe to be your targeted market, although you don't even identify it) is a DYNAMIC value. It is ever changing the moment you are able to under-price your competitors in a market where consumers are eagerly awaiting the total "energy solution" to all our energy woes. That being the case, then the figure of world consumption that you are seeking is a value that doesn't fit the near-future economic market equation and, therefore, is data that doesn't fit into the justification or projections of your business model. All you need to know for now is if there is an active AND latent demand for low-priced, pure Hydrogen (if you can truly produce it and distribute it to the consuming market place. Again, I seriously doubt you can do it. My doubts rest on all the attempts and research that has taken place throughout all these years that I've been an engineer. I can be proven wrong - but I still challenge your claim(s).

Your basic question is vague because in trying to keep information from us, you have failed to tell us what is your targeted consumption market. Is it fuel? Is it process raw material? How can anyone answer your question if you don't identify your targeted market? The answer is obvious: we can't.

Stanford Research Institute for many years carried out yearly research into the Hydrogen marketplace and the various processes to produce it. They may still have such work undergoing. You can purchase their reports, but I think you have to join as a member under a yearly fee. Check with your university on this.