Market survey or also known as market research is define as a survey research and analysis of the market for a specific product. The importance of market survey is that it analyses the markets’ services or products, consumers’ needs and services as well as investigates the inclinations of customer. Market surveys directly collect feedback from the target audience to understand their expectations, and requirements. Customer demographics form the heart of any business and market surveys can be used to obtain intricate and sensitive details about customers demographics such as ethnicity and family income. Market survey is typically introduced in the situations where a company want to release a new product or to improve the existing products.
The importance of market survey before starting the journey is an important step that needs to be done. There are many factors that depict the importance of a market survey for example understanding the demand and supply of the target market. This provides the insight regarding the target audience to realise their characteristics, expectations and interest level for the products. The whole wide world can be a target market for an organization. Developing a well-though marketing plan will help to make through thorough market surveys and segmentation in creating concrete and long-term plans.
All marketing activities involves customer acquisition and therefore it is influential to figure out customer expectations and needs. No matter what is the size of the organization, market surveys are required to gather feedback from their target audience from time to time. These organizations can later analyse the customers’ feedback to measure customer experience, satisfaction and expectations. Market surveys are also important in understanding where to test new products and services. Market surveys provide marketers a platform to analyse the scope of upcoming products and make changes in strategizing the product according to the feedback they receive.
Before developing a new chemical production plant, market surveys concerning the chemicals should be done before establishing and proposing to construct a new plant. Several key analysis should be conducted to better understand the requirements to manufacture a product that meets a market needs. The location of the new production plant, the availability of the raw materials, the cost of the raw materials, the cost of the processes, and the price of the product produced are all important that deep research studies need to be done. With all these information from the surveys in hand, these can provide the entrepreneurs a bigger picture of the proposed production plant.
1.5.1 Hydrogen Uses and Demand
Hydrogen production is a large and growing industry. The demand for green and clean fuel can be seen to rise in the coming years with increasing pollution levels added on with growing government regulations in controlling the sulphur content in fuels. This factor can be seen to drive the market. Hydrogen can be transformed into a renewable, non-polluting and zero-emissions energy resource. Hydrogen can improve air-quality, strengthen energy security, offers ways to decarbonise iron and steel, as well as long-haul transport and chemicals.
According to the analysis of Reports and Data (2020), the global hydrogen generation market size was valued at USD 117.49 billion in 2019 and is anticipated to record a revenue-based CAGR of 4.32% over the forecast period. The rising utilisation of hydrogen in many industries is expected to be the major driving factor. Hydrogen is produced using various resources such as natural gas, biomass, coal, and other renewable and non-renewable energy sources. As of now, natural gas is the primary source of hydrogen production and steam methane reformers using natural gas are extensively used for production.
With increasing human population and fast evolution of heavy industrial sectors are important contributors to energy demands. Current and future energy systems need to be costeffective, reliable, practical and sustainable with little to no impact on the environment. Therefore, hydrogen-based fuel technologies can be seen to be more researched on in the recent years. Currently, usage of hydrogen is more towards industrial activities like refining or ammonia production. In the future, hydrogen has great potential to become one of the clean energies of the future (Kimura, S., & Li, Y., 2018). For this section, only usage of hydrogen in energy used will be discussed instead of its uses as a feedstock. Japan is currently leading the use of hydrogen energy and hydrogen energy is expected to be executed in many developed nations by 2030. Listed below are the demand scenarios grouped by sectors mainly transport, industry and electricity generation.
Sector Fuel Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3
Transport Gasoline
Passenger Fuel Cell Vehicle:
Gasoline demand will be converted to hydrogen Listed are the shares of hydrogen to gasoline for passenger fuel cell vehicles
OECD
H2: 2 %
Gasoline: 98%
Non-OECD
H2: 1.0 %
Gasoline: 99%
OECD
H2: 10 %
Gasoline: 90%
Non-OECD
H2: 5 %
Gasoline: 95%
OECD
H2: 20 %
Gasoline:80%
Non-OECD
H2: 10 %
Gasoline:90%
Diesel Fuel Cell Bus: Listed are the shares of hydrogen to diesel for buses
Japan
H2: 0.05 %
Gasoline: 99.95%
Other countries
H2: 0.025 %
Gasoline: 99.975%
Japan
H2: 0.1 %
Gasoline: 99.9%
Other countries
H2: 0.05 %
Gasoline: 99.95%
Japan
H2: 0.2 %
Gasoline: 99.8%
Other countries
H2: 0.1 %
Gasoline: 99.9%
Fuel Cell Train: Listed are the shares of hydrogen to diesel for rail transport
H2: 5%
Diesel: 95%
H2: 10%
Diesel: 90%
H2: 20%
Diesel: 80%
Industry Natural gas 20% of natural gas consumption for industrial purposes will be replaced by natural gas and hydrogen mixed fuel Hydrogen concentration of mixed fuel
H2: 10%
Nat. gas: 90%
H2: 20%
Nat. gas: 80%
H2: 30%
Nat. gas: 70%
Electricity generation Natural gas 20% of new natural gas consumption for industrial purposes will be replaced by natural gas and hydrogen mixed fuel
Coal 20% of new coal-fired electricity generation will be converted to natural gas and hydrogen mixed fuel-fired generation
OECD: Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development
Table 1.5.1 Summary of Scenarios
From table 1.5.1, the summary shows that the potential ASEAN hydrogen demand is 6.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in Scenario 1, 14.9 Mtoe in Scenario 2 and 24.4 Mtoe in Scenario 3. The potentital East Asia Summit (EAS) region demand is 28.9 Mtoe in Scenario 1, 64.9 Mtoe in Scenario 2, and 104.7 Mtoe in Scenario 3. (Kimura, S., & Li, Y., 2018). Indonesia, followed by Malaysia and Vietnam, has the largest hydrogen demand potential amongst ASEAN member countries. In the EAS region, China has the largest hydrogen demand potential followed by India and ASEAN total.
Figure 1.5.1 Hydrogen Demand Potential in 2040, by Country
There are wide ranges of opportunities for Malaysia to become a clean energy leader with the hydrogen based technologies in the region. The launch of the first integrated hydrogen production plant in SEA is led by Sarawak. In partnership with Linde EOX Sdn. Bhd. and built by Sarawak Energy Bhd. (SEB), the plant produces hydrogen through electrolysis and a refuelling station for the state’s first hydrogen-powered vehicles. Japan and the SEB has also discussed about the collaboration on hydrogen energy which is the future of green and renewable energy (RE).
Hydrogen is a basic earth element that is available abundantly. It has great potential to decrease the reliance on fossil energy sources such as oil and the emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Hydrogen will be an essential energy carrier in the future made from renewable energy sources with no pollution. The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), will continue to work with relevant stakeholders to promote hydrogen as a more significant energy role and become a widely used alternative to gasoline in a clean and secure energy future.
1.5.2 Market Price of Product
1.5.3 Strength and Weaknesses
With increasing human population and fast evolution of heavy industrial sectors are important contributors to energy demands. Current and future energy systems need to be costeffective, reliable, practical and sustainable with little to no impact on the environment. Therefore, hydrogen-based fuel technologies can be seen to be more researched on in the recent years.
Hydrogen gives out lower carbon dioxide as compared to conventional fossil fuels. This can be seen more obvious when hydrogen is used as a generator fuel. Hydrogen does not give out sulphur oxide or particulate matter during combustion and this is very important in improving the regional environmental and human health.