Hydrogen
Overview
Hydrogen is an increasingly important piece in the decarbonisation puzzle. Industrial players are seeking ways to take carbon emissions out of their hydrogen production processes, while green hydrogen producers see the gas as a viable outright alternative to hydrocarbons.
Future production routes range from methane reformation with carbon capture to pyrolysis, waste gasification and electrolysis, powered by renewable energy or fossil fuels. Combinations of processes and energy being used to produce hydrogen presents existing users of industrial heat and key chemicals a challenging landscape to navigate.
The Argus Hydrogen and Future Fuels service has been designed to provide industrial power, chemicals and energy users with crucial information to help them make well informed decisions. It covers the upstream for projects, midstream for transportation and storage, and downstream for ammonia and methanol. It also covers the latest technological developments and policy news on hydrogen from across the globe.
Latest hydrogen news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global hydrogen industry.
UK backs ITM with £86.5mn for PEM electrolyser factory
UK backs ITM with £86.5mn for PEM electrolyser factory
London, 9 April (Argus) — The UK government has committed £86.5mn ($115.9mn) to electrolyser maker ITM Power to build a new 1 GW/yr manufacturing line at its Sheffield site in South Yorkshire, through £40mn in equity and £46.5mn in grant funding. State-owned energy firm Great British Energy (GBE) will take a 10.4pc stake in ITM through a £40mn share subscription, while the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Desnz) has indicated it intends to award a £46.5mn grant in principle, subject to a subsidy control review expected to conclude in June. The grant requires ITM to hire around 250 people in the UK over five years. The new line will manufacture ITM's next-generation Chronos proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser stack. The factory is expected to cost up to £120mn in total, leaving £33.5mn for ITM to fund itself. Commercial operation is targeted for 2028, with a final investment decision planned for June in line with grant contracting. The funds will go towards automated production and testing equipment, which accounts for 63pc of the total, covering catalyst-coated membrane manufacturing, electrode welding, platinum group metal coating and stack assembly. Chronos builds on ITM's existing Trident stack platform. ITM claims Chronos achieves a 40pc manufacturing cost reduction and 10pc efficiency improvement, with more than 50pc cuts in part count, weight and footprint. Stack capacity rose to 2–2.5MW per unit from Trident's 670kW. Chronos also uses 40pc less iridium, in line with ITM's goal of reducing precious metal use . The stack underwent third-party technical and commercial due diligence as part of the funding process. ITM's current plant designs — 2MW, 5MW, 20MW and 50MW — all use the Trident platform, which will remain in production alongside the Chronos line to serve contracted customers and long-term service agreements. ITM already operates a 1GW/yr Trident line at its Bessemer Park facility. GBE's investment follows its plan to start investing in 2026 and marks its first major move into hydrogen, having previously backed renewable generation , grid components and the offshore wind supply chain . ITM is set to supply electrolysers to four of the ten active projects under the UK's first hydrogen allocation round (HAR1) and was selected for Uniper's 120MW bid in HAR2. The wider UK hydrogen sector continues to wait on Desnz to publish its updated hydrogen strategy and make decisions on HAR2 and other subsidy schemes. By Chingis Idrissov Breakdown of expenses for ITM's 1 GW/yr Chronos line Category Percentage of total (pc) Estimated amount (£mn) Manufacturing & testing equipment 63 75.6 Validation 13 15.6 Fitout (clean rooms) 13 15.6 Project delivery 6 7.2 Other (including inflation) 5 6.0 Total 120 ITM Power, Argus Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australia selects renewable projects for aid scheme
Australia selects renewable projects for aid scheme
Sydney, 9 April (Argus) — The Australian Labor government has selected two renewable energy projects for a fast-track program in a bid to improve the country's long-term fuel security because Iran's effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz raised supply concerns across Australia. The Investor Front Door pilot program will streamline approvals for projects deemed of national significance, including low-carbon liquid fuel company HAMR Energy's proposed Portland Renewable Fuels project in Victoria, the government said today. The project will use local forestry residue to produce 300,000 t/yr of low-carbon methanol. The methanol can be used directly as a shipping fuel or converted into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its proposed 140mn litre/yr methanol-to-jet facility in South Australia. HAMR said its selection for the pilot program will help attract investment and allow the firm to work closely with the government, as it pursues a final investment decision. The second renewable energy project selected was the Murchison Green Hydrogen project in Western Australia (WA). The project is a green hydrogen plant producing large-scale green ammonia using wind and solar. Ardea Resources' Kalgoorlie nickel project in WA — one of the largest nickel and cobalt resources in Australia — and New Energy Transport's Wilton electric freight hub were also selected to support supply chain stability. By Grace Dudley Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Greece plans 1pc green H2 transport quota for 2030
Greece plans 1pc green H2 transport quota for 2030
Paris, 1 April (Argus) — Greece's government has proposed a 1pc quota for renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) in road transport in 2030, according to a draft law released for consultation on 31 March. The proposal aligns with the EU's revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), which requires member states to ensure at least 1pc of all transport fuels are RFNBOs by 2030. The draft allows for the quota to be met through the so-called refinery route, meaning refiners can replace fossil hydrogen with renewable hydrogen for fuel production. It would also introduce a minimum 1.2pc RFNBO quota for the maritime sector in 2030, and apply a multiplier of two for RFNBO use in road transport and of 1.5 for the maritime and aviation sectors. Unlike some other countries, Greece's proposal does not include a phase-in of quotas before 2030s or a trajectory with increasing quotas throughout the 2030s. Nor does Greece's proposal set specific penalties for non-compliance. Instead, fines would be decided by the ministry on a case-by-case basis. The government's consultation runs until 14 April. The bill also states that 42pc of all industrial hydrogen use should be renewable by 2030, rising to 60pc by 2035, in line with RED III requirements. Like most EU member states, Greece has not set company-specific obligations or defined mechanisms to reach this target. Greece's hydrogen demand was nearly 350,000 t/yr in 2024, according to data from the European Hydrogen Observatory. Almost 330,000 t/yr was used in refineries and most of this would fall under the transport targets. The remainder was primarily for ammonia production. Some renewable hydrogen projects are under development in Greece, including Motor Oil Hellas' 50MW electrolyser project at the Corinth refinery that is under construction, a 100MW electrolysis project in Lamia planned by a German joint venture, and a plant by Helleniq Hydrogen in Northern Macedonia. Greek gas transmission system operator Desfa this week opened a tender for the environmental impact assessment of its planned hydrogen pipeline. The H2dria pipeline would run 570km and connect production units with demand mainly in the Athens, Corinth and Thessaloniki industrial areas and would connect to a planned hydrogen pipeline in Bulgaria, Desfa said. By Pamela Machado Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Bulk terminals firm HES prepares for energy transition
Bulk terminals firm HES prepares for energy transition
Paris, 31 March (Argus) — Bulk terminal company HES International operates 14 facilities in four European countries and anticipates important changes to its operations as the energy transition and hydrogen market evolve. Argus spoke with new energies business development director Otto Waterlander and chief commercial officer for HES Med Terminal Firas Ezzeddine about how an infrastructure player must adapt to serve customers. Edited highlights follow: What does HES do and what is its role in decarbonisation? Ezzeddine: We are an essential and critical part of the logistics value chain for the industrial heart of Europe. Our value proposition is that we are located in deep sea ports in close proximity to industrial zones, meaning that we are well positioned to serve strategic European industries and their logistical needs. Waterlander: We are purely an infrastructure player; we do not normally have a stake or exposure to the commodities that we manage through our terminals. Our customers tend to be carbon-intensive and they all are struggling with the question of decarbonisation. For HES, it is both a necessity and an opportunity. It is a necessity because classic flows of commodities will phase out over time. And an opportunity because of the energy transition... new things are happening, for example, [development of a] CO2 [market]. Today, we are not involved in handling CO2, but it is going to become a commodity in the future. What are the main challenges related to energy transition activities? Ezzeddine: I see challenges in three buckets. The first is timing: there is a bit of a lag between project deployment and when the infrastructure should be ready to facilitate flows. These are generally not well aligned. The second challenge is around financing. We see from both private and public sector a bit of a risk averseness in terms of investing in the infrastructure for the future. The final challenge is regulation regarding both the new flows of commodities and the actual development of infrastructure. Waterlander: There is also a question about what the utilisation of new infrastructure will be like, particularly in the early years. What you see in the industry is that often projects get delayed, either because they are not economic or because their utilisation challenges create an [unfavourable] economic situation. A recent example is the CO2 transport pipelines. They require large volumes to make it economic and those volumes are not there yet. You need to factor in some long periods of underutilisation of the infrastructure. H ow are you addressing this last challenge, for example for CO 2 infrastructure? Waterlander: We believe that the key to unlocking the market is to go smaller and create optionality. For example, with regard to CO2 terminal activities, we are advancing in Wilhelmshaven and Rotterdam. We already have infrastructure there to receive tankers and we have dedicated jetties to handle the unloading or loading of vessels. We just need to adjust them so that we can also move CO2. We believe that we can actually get our terminals economically viable at about 1.5mn or maybe 2mn t/yr of CO2 handling, when most of the projects will look at 10mn t/yr plus. If we could develop a smaller size terminal to begin with and then grow to larger sizes, we can help the market to come to grips with those volumes. And then gradually over time, volumes will move into pipelines as well. Will the CO 2 be liquefied at the HES terminals? Waterlander: There are two models. In one we have pipeline transport of gaseous CO2, then HES will liquefy the CO2 at its site before it goes onto the ships. That is the most efficient way because otherwise each player would have to have their own liquefaction. But before we have the gaseous pipelines, we will see customers installing their CO2 capture facilities, liquefy it on site, load it into rail tankcars or into barges on the Rhine, for example, to Rotterdam. In this case we receive it in liquid form already. We are planning to have CO2 infrastructure in place by 2029. In the first year, that is only for a small volume, but by 2030 it starts to become significant. We will launch an open season for our first two CO2 terminals in the coming weeks and we are aiming to analyse more specific capacity bookings through these. In France's Fos-sur-Mer, you are working with the Gravithy green iron initiative . What additional infrastructure is needed for that? Ezzeddine: We will be managing the inflow of material for them, which is the iron ore, and the export of their hot briquetted iron [HBI] production. What that entails, in essence, is having some cranes and conveyor belt infrastructure from and to their facility. For the iron ore side, it is not different from the infrastructure that we have for other sites. But the HBI requires dedicated infrastructure because of the nature of the product. What we are doing now is designing a conveyor belt network going from our terminal to theirs, which is around 2km away, where we send iron ore and we receive HBI, and we dedicate a specific slot on our terminal land where we have specific storage for them. Does GravitHy need to book capacity in advance to enable the expansions? Ezzeddine: We have a specific planning and demand forecasting system where we input the potential volumes going in and out. When a new client comes in, they add their inflow and outflow requirements to the model. Then we see whether that is feasible or not given the current infrastructure and the land capacity that we have. The client, in this case GravitHy, tells us they have a need for ‘X' million tonnes of throughput in our terminal, and it is up to us to design the optimal inflow and outflow process. We update the model quite frequently so that we have visibility on what is needed by when, especially because some projects require infrastructure that takes years to build. What are HES' plans for e-methanol? Waterlander: We're working on an e-methanol import project where it will be brought from across the Atlantic into Germany. We have a storage site in Germany that is a former refinery and has liquid storage facilities. We still have an element of the refinery operational that provides security of supply today. We're discussing with a partner the construction of a synthetic aviation fuel (e-SAF) facility as well, which they would locate on our premises. What about other hydrogen carriers or hydrogen-based fuels? Waterlander: We're very proactive on following everything in the hydrogen space. We had discussions about liquid hydrogen imports. We are also into advanced project steps on imports of ammonia into Germany and are in project definition for imports of liquid organic hydrogen carriers. For our Wilhelmshaven site, we already have signed a letter of intent with grid infrastructure company OGE to be connected to the hydrogen network. Ammonia in particular is rather expensive because you need crackers. Is HES planning to develop ammonia crackers? Waterlander: It depends, it is still such early days. If we do it, it would not be at our sole risk, that is clear. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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