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.
Spain's Fertiberia to supply PepsiCo low-CO2 fertilizer
Spain's Fertiberia to supply PepsiCo low-CO2 fertilizer
London, 7 May (Argus) — Spanish fertilizer producer Fertiberia will progressively supply global food and beverage manufacturer PepsiCo with up to 150,000 t/yr of low-carbon nitrate fertilizers by 2030, under a new long-term supply agreement. Fertiberia will supply its renewable ammonia-based fertilizers, known under its Impact Zero brand, to global food and beverage manufacturer PepsiCo over an unspecified time frame. Farmers supplying PepsiCo will then use the fertilizers across approximately 400,000 acres (162,000 hectares) of farmland. Fertiberia has produced 20,000 t/yr of renewable ammonia at its Puertollano plant since 2022. The site has a 20MW electrolyser fed by an integrated 100MW solar photovoltaic plant. Fertiberia also produces 180,000 t/yr of natural-gas based ammonia at Puertollano, and previously indicated plans to add a further 50-180MW of electrolyser capacity — although it is yet to do so. The firm has also announced tentative plans for four further renewable ammonia projects in Spain, all of which have yet to reach final investment decisions. Fertiberia produces around 155,000 t/yr nitric acid at Puertollano. Combined with its ammonia feedstock, this can produce around 280,000 t/yr of ammonium nitrate and calcium ammonium nitrate fertilizers. Fertiberia's Impact Zero range utilises slow-release formulas and biological inhibitors to further enhance agronomic efficiency, reducing the overall greenhouse gas emissions of the finished product by 63pc. The supply agreement with PepsiCo builds on a successful trial in Spain and Portugal, where carbon emissions were cut by up to 20pc across corn farming and up to 15pc across potato farming, Fertiberia and PepsiCo said, without providing a benchmark emission level. The programme will now expand to France, Romania, Serbia, Greece and Turkey, for key crops including potatoes, corn, sunflower, sugar beet and rapeseed. The agreement will bring PepsiCo's share of low-carbon fertilizers used in its European operations up to 50pc by 2030, the company said. PepsiCo also has deals with Norwegian fertilizer company Yara in Europe , US nitrogen producer CF in the US and, most recently, agriculture technology company TalusAg across multiple regions . Similar initiatives have been undertaken by other global food and beverage manufacturers, which have a higher willingness to pay for the use of emissions-reducing fertilizer products in their supply chains than the farmers that are directly applying the product. By Lizzy Lancaster Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU parliament committee opposes CBAM suspension clause
EU parliament committee opposes CBAM suspension clause
Brussels, 5 May (Argus) — The European Parliament's environment committee opposes amending the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) with a new article 27a that allows for temporary suspension for certain goods, notably fertilizers. During its first formal debate, committee members broadly backed deleting the proposed article 27a. "Keeping that article would effectively mean game over for low-carbon industry investments in Europe," parliament's draftsman Mohammed Chahim said. If the European Commission believes that CBAM's scope should be adjusted, it should use an urgent legislative procedure, he said. Dutch centre-left member of the parliament (MEP) Chahim has presented a legal report critical of CBAM suspension. Polish MEP Adam Jarubas, speaking for parliament's largest centre-right EPP group, said it also opposes article 27a. But he said that farmers' concerns must be addressed, adding that the EPP will make proposals to support the sector. Parliament's draftsman for CBAM's proposed export support scheme, Pascal Canfin, also said farmers should be protected. He supports covering agricultural products such as grain and wheat, rather than bringing farmers themselves under the EU emissions trading system (ETS). Canfin called for export reimbursement before 2029 and for compensation to be limited to the share of production that is exported. But the French liberal MEP also wants CBAM extended to downstream operators and transformed products, notably in steel. "We support the deletion of article 27a," Austrian Green MEP Lena Schilling said, adding that her group will also seek to remove references to international carbon credits from the CBAM revision. "EU companies cannot replace emissions allowances with such credits. CBAM has to mirror this logic," she said. Like other groups, the Greens will propose amendments to extend CBAM to downstream products. Schilling said that around 130 additional combined nomenclature (CN) codes could be added, including for iron and steel products. More than 100 associations and companies representing the steel and aluminium industries separately urged the parliament and European Council in a joint statement this week to extend CBAM to downstream steel and aluminium-intensive products, arguing that downstream sectors in these industries face increasing competition from imports that are not covered by CBAM, creating imbalances in the market. German EPP MEP Peter Liese also supports extending CBAM to more products, but said including the entire chemical sector would be too complex. He also questioned keeping hydrogen under CBAM given the lack of imports. Liese strongly opposes article 27a. Some far-right and conservative MEPs backed suspension for fertilizers via article 27a. Alternative for Germany's Anja Arndt called for both the EU ETS and CBAM to be abolished, criticising the expansion of EU climate policy. In its EU fertilizer plan expected on 19 May, the commission should at a minimum propose CBAM suspension and long-term measures to offset farmers' costs, farm lobby Copa-Cogeca said. The group also called for clarity on the redistribution of CBAM revenues. It estimates that CBAM could cost EU farmers €820mn in 2026, rising to €3.4bn by 2034, with around 30pc of nitrogen fertilizer imported. The environment committee is set to vote on the issue on 6 July, ahead of a plenary vote in September, enabling talks with EU states on a final legal text. EU member states agreed their position in March , allowing article 27a to apply for at least one full calendar year and no more than two. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
IMO net-zero framework consensus remains elusive
IMO net-zero framework consensus remains elusive
London, 1 May (Argus) — Consensus at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meeting of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 84) this week remained elusive, with the US leading countries opposed to the proposed Net-Zero Framework (NZF) for greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. By late Friday evening, the majority of member states reached an agreement on the J7 document, which sets out future work for the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships to be held between now and November. The current proposed draft of the NZF , would require ships to reduce their fuel intensity by at least 4pc in 2028, rising to 30pc in 2035, creating a global carbon levy for shipping emissions. The creation of the NZF was approved at MEPC 83 in April 2025, but the planned approval of the regulation in October 2025 was postponed to this October because of a lack of consensus. Countries this week reviewed and debated plans for the proposed NZF, in hopes of finding consensus ahead of the October vote. Several countries this week sought to reshape the NZF proposal, with changes to the GHG pricing mechanism and global fuel intensity (GFI) guidelines. But the atmosphere at MEPC 84 was markedly more constructive than in the October meeting, some delegates told Argus . Formal adoptions at MEPC 84 focused on ballast water management, marine plastic litter and bio fouling, while discussions on the decarbonisation of the shipping industry were treated as preparatory ahead of the planned October vote. IMO officials repeatedly framed the talks as an effort to avoid a repeat of last year's breakdown and to prepare the ground for agreement later this year. Proposals by Liberia and Japan As part of the dialogue this week, member states proposed 57 amendments to the NZF. Several delegations reiterated their support for the revised NZF proposal submitted by Liberia, co-sponsored by Argentina and Panama, and a delegate told Argus this appears to be the main suggestion considered by IMO member states. The Liberian proposal calls for adjusting the Global Fuel Intensity (GFI) trajectory to reflect the demonstrated availability and uptake of low-carbon fuels, rather than fixed aspirational targets, and proposes to remove the creation of an IMO-managed fund financed by penalty payments. Under the proposal, fuels would qualify as compliant only if they meet defined viability criteria, including affordability, availability and scalability, with costs capped at no more than 15pc above conventional bunker fuels. But member states' views diverged mainly on the IMO-managed fund and the penalty payments determined in the draft on which members failed to reach consensus in October 2025. Japan's proposal also emerged strengthened from the meeting, a delegate said. The submission seeks the removal of mandatory payments to the IMO Net-Zero Fund. Instead, Japan proposes that compliance deficits should be balanced solely through market mechanisms, allowing ships to meet obligations by transferring surplus units generated by over compliant vessels. The proposal also calls for easing the Global Fuel Intensity (GFI) reduction trajectory from 2030 onwards. Continued lack of consensus The US, Russia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and others were opposed to the framework, while the EU, UK, China, Brazil and India were in favour. US delegate and Federal Maritime Commission chair Laura DiBella said the NZF is an unnecessary tax on US shippers and vessels operating in international waters. "The NZF would cost the maritime industry billions of dollars annually," DiBella said. "As the largest consumer of imported goods, these costs will be directly passed onto US consumers." Last year, the US threatened to retaliate against countries that backed the proposal. The deferral of the vote last October caused price declines in several alternative bunker fuel markets last year. Without at least a two-thirds majority consensus in favour of the framework, the IMO could potentially vote to adjourn or reject the NZF in October. Despite the conflict of views, IMO secretary general Arsenio Dominguez emphasised progress made in inter-sessional talks on the technical backbone of the framework, particularly GHG fuel intensity calculation guidelines, fuel certification and life cycle assessment methodologies. MEPC 84 discussions also covered how to treat technologies such as onboard carbon capture and storage (CCS), for which the IMO is drafting a future framework. The IMO on Wednesday agreed to designate the North-East Atlantic ocean as an emissions control area (ECA). This should boost demand for lower emission bunker fuels, such as very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), particularly for European LNG bunker markets, where methane slippage has increased in importance. By Madeleine Jenkins and Gabriel Tassi Lara Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Can collective buying solve the e-fuel offtake problem?
Can collective buying solve the e-fuel offtake problem?
Buyers clubs can secure more competitive terms than bilateral deals, and are making inroads in the maritime and aviation sectors, writes Pamela Machado Paris, 28 April (Argus) — Securing offtake remains the key barrier to progress for hydrogen and e-fuel projects, with producers and buyers struggling to align on the long-term commitments and pricing structures needed to secure financing. Collective procurement schemes, primarily aimed at reducing emissions from the aviation and maritime sectors, are emerging as a potential mechanism to break this deadlock. Initiatives such as the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (Saba) and the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (Zemba) are playing a growing role in facilitating offtake for e-fuels. They aggregate demand from large corporates seeking to cut Scope 3 emissions — from across a company's value chain — and use this pooled demand to tender for clean fuel use in freight and transport services. Members of these alliances include multinationals such as Amazon, Ikea, Microsoft and food and beverage firm Mondelez. Through competitive tenders, Saba and Zemba have contracted air and maritime transport providers that are committing to using a share of e-fuels. Member companies pay the premium associated with e-fuel use and will receive the environmental attributes associated with this through certificates issued under a book-and-claim system. Such collective buying mechanisms are a win-win situation for companies and e-fuel producers, industry participants say. Saba and Zemba members "benefit from the economies of scale associated with a collective procurement model", allowing them to secure more competitive terms than what would be possible through bilateral deals, Center for Green Market Activation (GMA) managing director Andre de Fontaine tells Argus . GMA co-manages Saba, working alongside the Environmental Defense Fund and the Rocky Mountains Institute. Buyers are also increasingly worried about fossil fuel price volatility caused by geopolitical tensions. Beyond cutting emissions, collective buying can help them "future-proof their supply chains", Zemba chief executive Ingrid Irigoyen says. Confidence to invest For producers, aggregated demand offers the scale and duration needed for investment decisions. It provides the "long-term offtake certainty needed to support new supply and attract project financing", US developer Infinium's strategy and solutions senior vice-president, Liz Myers, says. Infinium was recently selected to supply synthetic aviation fuel (e-SAF) through a Saba tender. The arrangements "simplify the offtake process for producers" and offer members a reliable framework that ensures fuels meet certain sustainability standards, Myers says. Infinium expects to supply e-SAF to American Airlines from 2029, while shipping line Hapag Lloyd — one of the winners of Zemba's most recent tender — plans to burn e-methanol on a transoceanic route from 2027. Both initiatives also facilitate offtake of biofuels, particularly during initial tenders. But feedstock availability constraints and expectations for potential future price increases prompted a shift in strategy. After Zemba's first tender selected waste-based biomethane as a shipping fuel, the group focused on enabling e-fuels in a second round, because e-fuels offer greater long-term scalability, near-zero emissions and the potential for price reductions as markets mature, Irigoyen says. Neither Saba nor Zemba receives public funding and financial commitments to offtake must ultimately come from members. For now, Scope 3 emissions reductions remain largely voluntary — although reporting is required in some jurisdictions, including the EU. Collective buying is therefore not a magic formula that will by itself nurture a wider e-fuels ecosystem beyond infancy. But it is already providing a tangible demand signal to developers and has helped to unlock offtake in some cases where bilateral negotiations may have stalled. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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