Electrolyser orders in China for green hydrogen projects have seen unprecedented growth, with orders placed in the first four months of 2025 already exceeding the entirety of 2024. According to Shanghai-based Orange Hydrogen Research Institute, more than 2.4GW of electrolyser orders from 31 projects were publicly announced from January to April, surpassing the 2.37GW total recorded for 2024. These orders consist of 1.07GW through public tenders and 1.35GW from independently signed deals.
Projects and firms win investments despite technical, economic, and political challenges
Green hydrogen, which is made by splitting water with renewable energy, sometimes seems like a long-shot solution to climate change. But despite political and economic headwinds, the low-carbon chemical feedstock and fuel is making some gains—especially in Europe—in the form of subsidies, investments, and deployed projects.
The nascent industry has struggled in recent months as the Donald J. Trump administrationtargeted US government–backed projects for cancellationand major companies such as Air Products and Chemicals, Shell, and BP backed away from corporate strategies emphasizing decarbonization.
Support from climate change advocates is also weakening. Some critics say green hydrogen is diverting scarce funding away from more-effective methods of combatting climate change.
Nonetheless, in mid-April, French prime minister François Bayrou signed a $169 million grant supporting the construction of a water electrolysis plant in Normandy’s Le Havre port area that will produce 34 metric tons (t) per day of hydrogen when it starts up in 2029. The companyreceiving the funding is Lhyfe, which builds onshore andoffshoregreen hydrogen plants. Under the agreement, the French firm will receive $20 million by June and the rest over the next 4 years as reimbursements.
The fertilizer maker Yara International runs facilities nearby that it plans to decarbonize with low-carbon hydrogen, and Lhyfe says the two firms are in advanced talks. Kris Danaradjou, an executive with the Haropa Port system, in Le Havre, says Yara is one of multiple chemical makers and other potential customers along the Seine River between Le Havre and Paris looking to low-carbon hydrogen to meet their climate goals.
Elsewhere in Europe, the renewable hydrogen producerHy2gen recently raised $53 millionin a funding round led by the hydrogen infrastructure investment fund Hy24 and the engineering firm Technip Energies. Hy2gen operates a plant in Germany that makes 2.5 t per day of green hydrogen for transportation uses. The company is developing projects in Canada and Norway that will use green hydrogen to produce ammonia and a plant in France that will make sustainable aviation fuel.
Hy2gen CEO Cyril Dufau-Sansot says in a press release that the firm has proved itself by operating a small-scale facility in Werlte, Germany. “Now we can confidently complete the planning and certification stages for our industrial-scale production plants and head toward the construction phase,” he says.
In Austria, the petrochemical firm OMV hasstarted up a 10MW green hydrogen plant near Viennawith a capacity of about 4 t per day. The company says it is using the hydrogen to upgrade waste food oils into sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel, for a net reduction of 15,000 t of carbon dioxide per year. OMC says the $28 million project is part of its ongoing transition into a sustainable chemicals, fuels, and energy company.
Even Air Products isn’t completely abandoning green hydrogen. In a May 1 investor call, CEO Eduardo Menezes said the firm would complete its 10-metric-ton-per-day green hydrogen plant in Arizona and honor clean hydrogen supply deals it has already signed in Europe. But the firm is canceling a 35 metric-ton-per-day plant in New York and holding off on further low-carbon hydrogen investments in Europe.
Green hydrogen investment doesn’t mean the companies involved have solved the fundamental flaws of low-carbon hydrogen as a climate solution, according to Joe Romm, a climate researcher at the University of Pennsylvania. On Earth Day this year, Romm published a book titledThe Hype About Hydrogen.
Romm argues that the projects moving forward in Europe shouldn’t count as green hydrogen because they rely on renewable energy credits instead of newly built renewable energy sources matched to hydrogen production by the hour. As a result, they’ll often be powered by whatever is on the grid at the time and will have a significant net CO2footprint.
And the cost of making green hydrogen has not come down as fast as industry boosters projected. “The price of electrolyzers was supposed to come down every year, like the cost curve of solar has,” Romm says. “But it turns out that the cost of electrolyzers rose 50% between 2021 and 2024. The hydrogen is not so green, and it's more expensive than people thought.”
Even if those problems were solved, Romm says, heat pumps, batteries, and other forms of electrification are far more ready to cut greenhouse gas emissions. “If people want to do R&D, go for it. But let's use 99% of the renewables we're building for directly replacing fossil fuels,” he says.
BASF has announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with Plug Power, a comprehensive solutions provider for the green hydrogen economy, positioning BASF’s advanced DeOxo catalysts as an offer within Plug Power’s hydrogen liquefaction plants globally to enhance their market offerings, improving reliability and cost efficiency.
BASF's DeOxo catalysts, including the Purivate™ Pd15 product, offer catalyst performance at low temperatures, reducing the need for expensive precious metals. These materials have been fully qualified for use in Plug Power’s hydrogen liquefaction plants, establishing BASF as a preferred and specified product provider. In addition to the DeOxo catalysts for the efficient removal of oxygen, Plug Power has also qualified adsorbents like Sorbead®Air for use in their hydrogen plants. Sorbead Air, a specialty aluminosilicate gel, offers energy-efficient dehydration of electrolysed hydrogen.
The primary focus of this collaboration is on hydrogen liquefaction plants with capacities of 30, 60, and 90 tpd. BASF has passed a technical qualification process, supported by an extensive operating reference list, demonstrating its capability and reliability in this sector.
“BASF has a rich history in hydrogen purification and has built a robust portfolio that features large scale hydrogen purification units in our own facilities. We are proud to have also earned the approval of other leading players in the green hydrogen sector,” said Detlef Ruff, Senior Vice President, Chemical Catalysts and Adsorbents at BASF.
“Plug Power has confidence in BASF’s experience in hydrogen purification. We believe this collaboration will provide our clients with proven and reliable end-to-end solutions that enhance the economic viability of liquid hydrogen plants,” added Daniel Kennedy, Vice President, Process Technology Plug Power.
Savage Companies (Savage) and Symbio North America (Symbio) will seal a key collaboration on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at the 2025 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo (ACT Expo), Anaheim, California, US.
The collaboration between Symbio and Savage marks a milestone in the decarbonisation of the drayage sector with the introduction of a fully developed end-to-end hydrogen fuel cell powertrain solution, engineered by Symbio for seamless integration into Savage’s trucks.
This hydrogen powertrain solution relies on two key components to meet the performance demands of the drayage market. To support this, Symbio has partnered with one of its shareholders, a provider of hydrogen storage, FORVIA.
Symbio’s multi-system fuel cell delivers a combined power output of 300 kW. Its compact and modular design features multiple StackPackTM75 kW units, that enhance both integration and space efficiency. Combined with FORVIA’s hydrogen 70MPa XL-Tanks which provides maximised storage capacity of 34 kg of hydrogen, it delivers a comprehensive solution that supports full-shift operation without the need for refuelling. The entire hydrogen powertrain maintains a lightweight and compact design adapted to every truck chassis offering a zero emission alternative to diesel powertrains without compromising on payload capacity.
Beyond payload and storage performance, the solution delivers operational benefits comparable to diesel trucks: rapid and safe hydrogen refuelling in under 15 minutes, which enables 24/7 fleet operation with back-to-back shifts with maximised efficiency and uptime. Additionally, the lower maintenance requirements of hydrogen fuel cell powertrains further reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO).
Key areas of collaboration:
Fleet transition and expansion: development of a 4 × 2 fuel cell vehicle driveline prototype, based on a Mack Anthem chassis. This sets the stage for broader fleet decarbonisation and supports the transition of Savage’s approximately 80 California-based trucks to zero emission vehicles.
Technology development and deployment: advance Symbio’s end-to-end hydrogen fuel cell driveline solutions to enable active integration into vehicles operated by Savage.
Developing affordable technology for hydrogen market scale up: providing a low TCO solution thanks to optimised hydrogen fuel cell driveline solution and lower maintenance requirements.
Operational data sharing: Savage will provide valuable performance feedback to optimise Symbio’s vehicle solutions, ensuring efficiency and reliability in real-world operations.
Savage drives sustainable transportation through major infrastructure investments and a growing zero emission vehicle fleet. This partnership will provide opportunities to evaluate further adoption of fuel cell zero emission vehicles across its fleet.
“We are excited about the impact this new technology will have on the industry and are proud to be one of its early adopters,” said Tyler Flynn, Senior Director of Projects at Savage. “Partnering with Symbio allows us to continue taking steps to make our fleet more sustainable while ensuring it remains efficient.”
Symbio, through its supply of fuel cell systems for OEMs, is strongly committed to deploying zero emission mobility. Operating from its facility in Temecula, California, US, Symbio is repowering commercial vehicles as part of its North American offering, enabling fleet operators access to hydrogen fuel cell solutions.
“We are proud to partner with Savage in accelerating the deployment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Our collaboration demonstrates a shared commitment to zero emission transportation and will serve as a model for fleets transitioning to hydrogen with competitive fuel cell solutions,” said Rick Breunesse, Business Development Director at Symbio North America.
