Hydrogen production is the family of industrial methods for generating hydrogen gas. As of 2020, the majority of hydrogen (∼95%) is produced from fossil fuels by steam reforming of natural gas, partial oxidation of methane, and coal gasification. Other methods of hydrogen production include biomass gasification, no CO2 emissions methane pyrolysis and electrolysis of water. The latter can be done directly with any source of electricity, such as solar power.
The production of hydrogen plays a key role in any industrialized society, since hydrogen is required for many essential chemical processes. As of 2019, roughly 70 million tons of hydrogen are produced annually worldwide for various uses, such as oil refining, and in the production of ammonia (through the Haber process) and methanol (through reduction of carbon monoxide), and also as a fuel in transportation. The hydrogen generation market is expected to be valued at US$115.25 billion in 2017.