Global clean hydrogen investment tops $130 billion, new report finds
A new Hydrogen Council report puts global clean hydrogen investment above $130 billion, though high costs are still slowing projects in hard-to-electrify industries.
Cumulative global investment in clean hydrogen projects has passed $130 billion, according to the Hydrogen Council's Global Hydrogen Compass 2026 report, released alongside a hydrogen energy ministers' meeting in Tokyo. The report tracks more than 570 committed projects with combined capacity to produce about 6.9 million metric tons of clean hydrogen a year, and finds roughly 90% of that capacity is already under construction or operating.
China accounts for more than half of the world's committed renewable-hydrogen capacity, Europe ranks second by investment, and the United States leads in actually putting low-carbon hydrogen to use. The report estimates current government policies can support annual demand of 6 million tons by 2030, with room for 5 million tons more if governments fully carry out measures already on the books.
But the sector's growth is uneven: high production costs and soft demand for low-carbon hydrogen have pushed some developers to scale back or cancel projects, and hard-to-electrify industries like steel and long-haul transport still view the switch as too expensive to make at scale.
Based on reporting by Haber Merkezi for İklimhaber. Read the original (Turkish): https://www.iklimhaber.org/yeni-rapor-kuresel-temiz-hidrojen-yatirimi-130-milyar-dolari-asti/
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
