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.
What role for clean H2 in South Korea?
What role for clean H2 in South Korea?
Plans for a cleaner grid may leave no future for ammonia co-firing, and recent events will reinforce resolve to reduce import reliance, writes Stefan Krumpelmann Hamburg, 8 April (Argus) — For a while, imports of clean hydrogen and derivatives were expected to take centre stage in South Korea's energy future. But a change in government and war in the Middle East have shifted the focus to domestic clean energy generation, and hydrogen imports could be sidelined to a supporting role. South Korea in 2021 set a target of using 3.9mn t/yr of hydrogen by 2030. Roughly half of this was to be imported from regions with abundant potential for low-cost production. Imports were expected to rise to 22.9mn t/yr by 2050, accounting for over 80pc of supply by then. Hydrogen and derivatives were expected to be used widely across industry, power generation and transport. While these targets have not been abandoned officially, the 2030 goals are far out of reach and policy objectives have changed. After taking office last year, the government of President Lee Jae Myung increased the country's 2030 renewable power capacity target to 100GW from 80GW previously. The existing figure stands at 37GW. The government also announced plans for an accelerated phase-out of coal-fired power , with direct implications for hydrogen and derivatives. Seoul called off a second round of its clean hydrogen power generation bidding market, as the coal phase-out decision effectively rules out long-term ammonia co-firing . War in the Middle East has provided fresh impetus for a government drive to strengthen domestic energy output — South Korea relies heavily on imported fossil fuels, including oil and LNG from the Mideast Gulf. "It is time to establish a new energy security system capable of drastically reducing dependence on imports by expanding domestic production," the ministry of climate, energy and environment said on 7 April. The government now says it aims to reach the 100GW renewables target for 2030 "ahead of schedule". The ministry's statement focused primarily on increased electrification, including a "complete transformation" of the national power grid. But it also referenced support for hydrogen production using renewable and nuclear power, hydrogen consumption in steelmaking and adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles. An imminent relaunch of the clean hydrogen power generation bidding market's second round may be focused exclusively on co-firing domestically produced hydrogen with natural gas, industry participants say, although the government has yet to finalise the exact plans. Participants in the mechanism previously looked primarily to cheaper supply from abroad , including ammonia produced from natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the Middle East. Even before the war started, delays in renewable and CCS-based hydrogen projects globally cast doubts over import plans. And with the government encouraging domestic output, major firms like Hyundai have advanced ambitious plans for renewable hydrogen production and development of in-house technologies . Imports will arguably still have a role, however, given cost advantages and investments already made. Renewable ammonia from elsewhere in Asia could be a particularly attractive proposition. Engineering firm Samsung C&T signed a binding $3bn deal last month for renewable ammonia supply from India's Reliance — possibly to replace volumes from a delayed Saudi CCS-based project destined for co-firing by utility Kospo. And in February, Lotte Fine Chemical received a first renewable ammonia cargo from China's Envision Energy. S Korea's H2 targets from 2021 Target year Domestic production Imports 2030 940,000 t/yr conventional/unabated; 750,000 t/yr CCS-based; 250,000 t/yr renewable 1.96mn t/yr renewable 2050 3mn t/yr renewable; 2mn t/yr CCS-based 22.9mn t/yr renewable - South Korean government 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.
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