Global hydrogen industry reports $75 billion in committed capital but climate targets at stake due to project delays

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At the same time, the pace and scale of deployment need to accelerate dramatically to meet global climate goals.

The Hydrogen Insights 2024 report reveals that while the global project pipeline has grown by a factor of seven since 2020 from 228 projects to 1,572 projects, as of May 2024, it has also matured, with a strong focus on advancing projects towards execution.

Most notably, clean hydrogen projects that reached final investment decision (FID) have also seen a seven-fold increase in committed investment, growing from approximately $6.8 billion (USD 10 billion) across 102 projects in 2020 to some $110.2 billion across 434 projects in 2024.

The most recent data from October 2023 to May 2024 further underscores a clear shift from project planning to implementation.

Total announced investments through 2030 have increased by approximately 20% – from $837.9 billion to $999.7 billion.

The most notable growth has occurred in the more advanced stages of project development, with investments past FID growing by 90%, followed by a 30% increase in front-end engineering design (FEED) stage projects.

This clear shift across the global project pipeline from announcements to implementation is coupled with natural attrition that fosters industry maturation by eliminating less viable projects and prioritising those with the highest potential, a pattern also seen in the early stages of other clean energy industries such as wind and solar.

Hydrogen Council Co-Chair and President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company Jaehoon Chang said the seven-fold increase in committed capital for hydrogen projects reaching FID over the past four years demonstrates the industry’s progress.

“We are pleased to see the industry walking the talk at this critical transitional moment, as evidenced in the latest Insights report. Moreover, further action is needed to ensure an accessible and affordable hydrogen supply, enabling the widespread adoption of hydrogen,” Chang said.

Despite progress, the hydrogen sector, like other clean energy industries currently, faces macroeconomic headwinds including rising inflation and interest rates, as well as geopolitical tensions affecting energy markets.

Sector-specific issues such as regulatory uncertainty and increasing costs for renewable power and electrolysers have led to project delays, particularly for renewable hydrogen projects.

Hydrogen Council Chief Executive Officer Ivana Jemelkova said the report sends a clear message: hydrogen is happening.

“Now that hydrogen is a reality in the energy transition, it’s time to drive significantly more investment by 2030 to meet our mid-century targets. Equipped with concrete lessons learned from the past four years, we must urgently address challenges in key markets and create a more favourable environment for project execution,” Jemelkova said.

Hydrogen Council Co-Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Linde, Sanjiv Lamba said realising hydrogen’s full climate and socio-economic potential requires a united effort from governments and industry.

“With a supportive regulatory framework and targeted incentives, investors will have the certainty they need to move projects to FID – ultimately contributing to achieving global climate targets,” Lamba said.