Hydrogen investments exceed $110 billion

Energy Daily - Global clean hydrogen investments have surpassed $110 billion across more than 500 projects. The Hydrogen Council report revealed that growth continues despite cancellations in the sector.

$110 BILLION CLEAN HYDROGEN INVESTMENT

The report noted that $35 billion worth of projects have reached final investment decisions in the past year, with investments increasing by over 50 percent each year since 2020. "We have more than 500 examples to support those who claim hydrogen is dead," said Ivana Jemelkova, CEO of the Hydrogen Council.

CHALLENGES AND REALITIES

Hydrogen, which only releases water vapor when burned, is a prominent alternative to oil and gas. However, the costly nature of production, storage, and transportation is a major obstacle to these projects. In the last 18 months, companies like BP, Shell, ArcelorMittal, and Iberdrola have canceled more than 50 projects. Jemelkova stated, "This is a natural elimination process for the industry; the same thing happened with solar."

REGIONAL DIFFERENCES AND EUROPE

More than half of global investments came from China and the US. While China prioritizes green hydrogen, the US is focusing on blue hydrogen, which is produced from gas and stored carbon. Currently, 1 million tons of capacity is in operation, and 5 million tons are under construction. The majority of the investments are comprised of four large facilities in China, the Blue Point project in the US, and projects developed by India-based Hygenco with Swiss firm Ameropa. Hy24 CEO Pierre-Etienne Franc said, “If Europe doesn’t recover, the door will close.” Sanjiv Lamba, Linde CEO and Co-Chair of the Hydrogen Council, described Europe’s disregard for blue hydrogen as a “lack of pragmatism.”