Hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives (for example methanol, ammonia, jet fuel, or other e-fuels) enable the transportation and storage of renewable electricity, thereby helping to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors (such as heavy industry, chemicals and materials, and heavy transportation) and creating a resilient future energy system.
Helping realize the energy transition and decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors
Our approach
We work with clients across the whole hydrogen ecosystem—project developers, owners and operators, midstream companies, OEMs and components suppliers, technology innovators, and investors. We identify new growth opportunities, scale businesses, organize for growth, reduce product costs, scale up manufacturing, deliver megaprojects effectively, identify and setup partnerships and hubs, innovate technologies and much more. Our clients are large corporates, start-ups, and scale-ups, as well as governments.
We solve a broad range of business challenges, such as:
Strategy
Our hydrogen assets help our clients gain a holistic view of the developing hydrogen economy. We help clients develop their corporate and business unit strategies, identifying best markets, pricing, and hub strategy. We also advise about partnerships.
Business building
Applying the McKinsey business building framework helps our clients to navigate the uncertainty of hydrogen by de-risking projects. We can develop a full potential plan for startups and scale-ups, and conduct vendor and commercial due diligence. We also offer fundraising support.
Project execution and manufacturing
Developing and executing large capital projects is hard enough under stable conditions. Our approach to leverage best-in-class tools tailored for uncertainty and unclear interfaces enables our clients to lower project risk and regain control. Our expertise covers areas such as plant-as-a-product, project delivery excellence, design-to-value, and manufacturing scale-up.
Capabilities
Hydrogen Global Trade Perspective
Our Hydrogen Global Trade tool provides a perspective on potential hydrogen and derivative trade flows for over 70 regions and five end-products to meet projected demand via domestic supply, piped, or shipped imports, including a detailed perspective on cost of supply.
Hydrogen Value Pool Model
The Hydrogen Value Pool Model represents our proprietary perspective on the hydrogen equipment market across the value chain, providing a comprehensive view on hydrogen equipment revenue and EBIT pools.
Global Hydrogen Project & Investment Portal
Our Project and Investment Portal provides a comprehensive perspective on Green and Blue Hydrogen industry growth trajectory, including detailed information on more than 1,000 announced projects across the globe.
Hydrogen Cost Perspective
The Hydrogen Cost Perspective delivers end-to-end hydrogen value chain costs across more than 40 geographies, 40 technologies, and 40 end-uses. It allows clients to understand both the competitiveness of different hydrogen-end-uses compared to conventional and other low-carbon technologies and the potential end-user willingness-to-pay for hydrogen across all end-use sectors.
RHEA
Renewables and Hydrogen Ecosystem Atlas is our navigation map for the energy transition. This interactive geospatial tool integrates 35+ detailed data layers and multiple McKinsey solutions into a centralized platform to enable critical decision making on green hydrogen and clean fuels projects around the world, including project siting, offtaker search, and infrastructure development. This tool can be used by developers, utilities, and investors alike to make faster, better-informed project development decisions.
H2-COM
The Hydrogen and Derivatives Cost Optimization Model (H2-COM) is a solution that determines the optimal build-out of green hydrogen or derivative production plant (e.g., renewable energy, electrolyzer, storage, and derivative plant capacities) to achieve lowest possible levelized production cost. The optimization has hourly granularity and considers output firmness requirements as well as location and time-varying design parameters. The tool leverages McKinsey’s latest perspectives on all components costs and performance inputs and it can also model production costs with the latest policy requirements (e.g., time-matching).
Examples of our work
Market entry strategy
Developed a clean fuels and chemicals strategy for a hydrogen producer.
Manufacturing scale up and product support
Rapid cost and manufacturing scale-up diagnostic for an electrolyzer and fuel cell manufacturer.
Portfolio allocation and equity story development
Supported a private equity firm define its hydrogen growth-equity fund strategy.
Business building and hub development
Helped to build a disruptive zero-carbon business that is revolutionizing the steel industry.
Featured leaders
Bernd Heid
Senior PartnerNew York
Leads the McKinsey Platform for Climate Technologies and work in hydrogen globally; serves clients in the mobility and energy...
Markus Wilthaner
PartnerBrussels
Passionate about building businesses in hydrogen and batteries, working with industry leaders, start-ups, and public institutions...
Arnout de Pee
PartnerAmsterdam
Brings in-depth strategy and transformation expertise in the energy sector serving global leaders, attackers, and scale-ups in...
Kimberly Henderson
PartnerWashington DC
Supports companies, investors, and public and social sector entities to address climate change
Rory Clune
PartnerBoston
Brings broad experience in strategic and operational topics to companies across the energy value chain, along with deep expertise...
Xiaofan Wang
PartnerShanghai
Leads the Oil & Gas Practice and is a core leadership member in the sustainability and growth platform in Greater China; advises...
Zak Cutler
Senior PartnerToronto
Serves electric and gas utilities, energy companies, and infrastructure owners and investors on issues related to capital investment...
Berend Heringa
PartnerLondon
Brings expert knowledge on oil and gas strategy, energy-market forecasting, proprietary data, and advanced analytics
Ole Rolser
PartnerAmsterdam
Helps energy companies develop future-looking strategies that anticipate trends across fuels, industries, and regions
Jesse Noffsinger
PartnerSeattle
Works with organizations to understand, drive, and prepare for the global energy transition, bringing deep insight into renewable...
Events
2023
Green Business Building Summits
McKinsey’s Green Business Building Summits are unique forums focused on building and scaling green business ventures and new technologies through presentations, roundtables and cross-sector networking events with founders, funders and corporate leaders.
November 30, 2023
COP
COP refers to the United Nations’ annual conference on climate change. Its 28th meeting (COP28) is scheduled to begin November 30, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
October 2022
Global Infrastructure Initiative Summit
The world’s leaders in infrastructure and capital projects gathered in Tokyo to align on a pathway to sustainable infrastructure. The 9th GII summit is scheduled to begin February 27, 2024, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Featured insights
Report
Hydrogen Insights 2023 December Update
Hydrogen Insights 2023 December Update is the latest update on the global hydrogen economy from the Hydrogen Council and McKinsey & Company. It summarizes the current state of the global hydrogen sector and actual hydrogen deployment, with a deep dive into renewable hydrogen cost evolution.
Report
Hydrogen Insights 2023
Authored by the Hydrogen Council in collaboration with McKinsey and Company, Hydrogen Insights 2023 summarizes the current state...
Report
Global Hydrogen Flows
Authored by the Hydrogen Council in collaboration with McKinsey and Company, Global Hydrogen Flows addresses the midstream...
Report
Article
Unlocking hydrogen’s power for long-haul freight transport
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As the demand for hydrogen in transportation increases, it is imperative to develop infrastructure to supply trucks, buses, and...
Report
Hydrogen-powered aviation
Hydrogen as an energy source will play a key role in transforming aviation into a zero-carbon / climate-neutral system over the...
Report
Global Energy Perspective 2023
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In an evolving energy landscape, our Global Energy Perspective 2023 provides insights into long-term trends that will shape the...
Article
Five charts on hydrogen’s role in a net-zero future
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Hydrogen has great potential as a carbon-free energy carrier. Here’s a look at the momentum behind this widely applicable technology....