New Energies, new possibilities

Quest One (formerly H-TEC Systems) says 'entire industry' is suffering the economic effects — and that it is no exception

German PEM electrolyser maker Quest One — known as H-Tec Systems until last August — is set to reduce its workforce by around 120 jobs due to “an overall tense economic situation” resulting from a slower-than-expected ramp-up of the green hydrogen industry.

The Augsburg-based company — which operates a 5GW factory in Hamburg — is saying that its “program to strengthen the company’s competitiveness... “will focus on significant cost reductions... [that will] align internal capacities with the current market situation”.

“The market environment will remain challenging for the foreseeable future,” said CEO Michael Meister, who only began his role on 1 February.“So far, the growth of the global hydrogen economy has lagged well behind the industry’s expectations and the planned steps of the German and European hydrogen strategies. The entire industry cannot escape the resulting economic effects, and Quest One is no exception. We have to act and to take difficult decisions.”

Other European electrolyser makers are also struggling. Norway’s Nel has temporarily paused production at its 1GW electrolyser factor, while French OEM Elogen has halted construction on its own gigafactory in France.

“With the program, we are actively strengthening Quest One's ability to react to fluctuations in the market. We are convinced of the success of the hydrogen economy and electrolysis industry. There is no getting around green hydrogen for the decarbonization of industry.”
The reduction of about 120 jobs is part of an optimisation process to increase efficiency within the company, and will affect staff at its Augsburg headquarters and Hamburg factory, which was opened by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last September.

“This job reduction should be carried our without redundancies, if possible,” the company stated.

“The program will create the framework conditions for greater customer proximity, stronger competitiveness and more profitable growth. The company simplifies procedures, structures and processes. Quest One expects savings in the low to mid double-digit million range.”

Chief financial officer Markus Weber added: “Through the resulting focus, Quest One will emerge stronger and better equipped to face the challenges of the market.”
German electrolyser maker to cut 120 staff due to slower-than-expected growth of green hydrogen sector | Hydrogen Insight

German electrolyser manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Nucera has reported a 95% drop in new orders for its green hydrogen business year-on-year in the first quarter of its 2024-25 fiscal year.

The company secured just €5m ($5.21m) of new alkaline electrolyser orders for H2 projects in the quarter (which runs from September to the end of December), compared to the €109m it booked in the same period the previous year.
“The market-specific high volatility in the project business and project delays influenced this development,” the firm noted in a press release.
However, sales under existing orders grew by 30% to €154m as Thyssenkrupp Nucera delivered on those such as the 700MW booked by green steel start-up Stegra for its flagship project in Boden, Sweden, which has scheduled the start of steel production using hydrogen-based direct reduced iron for 2026.

The electrolyser manufacturer noted that €100m of the Q1 2024 order intake had been for Stegra’s project.

The orderbook had also previously been bolstered by the 2.2GW Neom green hydrogen and ammonia complex in Saudi Arabia, which is more than halfway through construction.

“The challenges in the market for green hydrogen remain very high. But the need to implement the decarbonisation strategies of industry also continues. The growth prospects for this market therefore remain intact,” said Werner Ponikwar, Thyssenkrupp Nucera’s CEO.

The electrolyser maker’s earnings before interest and tax for its green hydrogen business remained negative, although the loss halved from €16m in Q1 2024 to €8m in the past quarter.The firm also sells electrolysis equipment for the chlor-alkali process to produce caustic soda, a more profitable business which dragged the overall pre-tax earnings to €8m.

The company continues to forecast between €450m and €550m in sales and earnings before interest and taxes in the “negative mid-double-digit million euro range” for green hydrogen projects in the full fiscal year.

Thyssenkrupp Nucera continues to develop solid-oxide electrolysers alongside its current alkaline offering, with €7m of research and development spend in the past quarter.

The firm had in January seen both its chief financial officer and its chief technology officer step down, to retire and for non-disclosed personal reasons respectively.

Thyssenkrupp Nucera electrolyser orders crash by 95% amid green hydrogen market headwinds | Hydrogen Insight

NEPTUNE V is the company’s full-scope 5 MW containerised green hydrogen plant, which utilises ITM’s leading and proven TRIDENT stack technology. It provides reliable, flexible, and highly efficient hydrogen production capacity and the industry's smallest footprint per MW.

The NEPTUNE V units will be deployed into the first phase of Norway's Hydrogen Hub Agder project, 100% owned by Greenstat, a subsidiary of FDE, developing green energy production projects in Norway. The 20 MW green hydrogen hub facility will be dedicated to supplying the maritime industry, and production is expected to start in late 2026. The second phase is expected to be an additional 40 MW, which is planned to be launched in 2027.

Dennis Schulz, CEO of ITM, said: “The Nordic countries present an exciting opportunity for green hydrogen, and it is a privilege that FDE has selected us for the Agder Hydrogen Hub in Norway.”

Antoine Forcinal, CEO of FDE, added: “We are delighted to work with ITM as a partner for the supply of an integrated electrolyser solution for our Agder Hydrogen Hub project, one of the largest green hydrogen projects in Norway.”

ITM Power supplies NEPTUNE V units | Global Hydrogen Review

India Energy Week (IEW) 2025 has opened its doors in New Delhi and the major exhibition, billed as the second largest energy event globally, heard bold forecasts for green hydrogen at the opening ceremony.

The India National Hydrogen Mission has set a target of 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 but H.E. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, said he thinks India “will do much better than that.”

“I believe there will be such a shift to green hydrogen and work is going on at a frantic pace. We’ve already demonstrated that the cost of solar energy can be brought down from 25 cents to 3 cents – all you need is an electrolyser,” he said.

Minister Puri said while the “primary focus” remains on increasing the adoption of biofuels, renewables and hydrogen, he accepted oil and gas will continue to play a pivotal role in stabilising grids, and developing industrial hydrogen and energy storage.

Addressing delegates at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the 21st century belongs to India. “India is not only driving its own growth, but also contributing to the world’s growth,” he said.

India is targeting rapid growth from 3GW to 70GW solar power capacity in 10 years. “To support green energy, the government has made several announcements, including removing duties on critical minerals to strengthen India’s supply chain. This year’s budget also opened up investment in nuclear energy,” said Prime Minister Modi.

A panel discussion was held with India, Tanzania, UK and Qatar, with the UK represented by Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. Miliband said there was panel agreement about climate threats and “common narrative” to achieve economic growth and security. “Our position is that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a massive wake up call for the world but also for us. What we saw was a huge spike in fossil fuel prices.

He said nuclear and renewables must be part of the mix and we need all technologies.

“We are a proud producer in the North Sea and oil and gas, but we are also a price taker, not a price maker, on the international market and that means we were hit in a massive way. So for the UK, energy security, economic growth and jobs, and tackling the climate crisis all point in the same direction – which is to make this transition to clean energy as fast as we can.”

Qatar Minister of State for Energy Saad Sherida al-Kaabi said it is building the world’s largest ammonia plant “and we’re going to be starting production next year” while raising LNG production from 77 to 160 million tonnes. Hon. Doto Mashaka Biteko, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy in Tanzania, said its most dominant energy mix is hydro and it is targeting 100% renewables. “So the excess we have, what do we do with it? The second issue is how do you evaluate the electricity to neighbouring countries, we need money to put up the transmission lines. We need to bring electricity to 300 million people in the next five years in Africa and it will require a lot of investment.”

A video showcased the country’s growth in oil and gas, with investment totalling $72bn in five years, and outlined its strategic aim to create ‘energy justice and sustainability… and driving down hydrogen production, powering biofuels and expanding capacities at an unprecedented rate’.

IEW 2025 exhibition space has grown 65% to 28,000sqm and global delegates are expected to exceed 70,000. Running for the third year, the event unites policymakers, energy leaders and innovators and more than 700 exhibitors are on site.

With India embarking on bold hydrogen and ammonia development and courting renewables while remaining committed to traditional oil and gas, it is little wonder that the event is capturing broad international interest.

Over 500 speakers will take to the podium this week and more than 20 foreign Energy Ministers or Deputy Ministers will be in attendance along with heads of international organisations and 90 CEOs from Fortune 500 energy companies. Delegates had access to a hydrogen bus, promoting the fuel of the future.

Ravin Mirchandani, H2 View advisory board member, said 2025 is shaping up to be a big year for India’s hydrogen sector as a number of the first technology proving plants will come on stream which will be a harbinger for companies that have undertaken these pilots to learn and also commit to large scale production.

“India has the opportunity to be a ‘life boat’ for the European hydrogen tech houses,” he said.

“The European hydrogen sector has slowed due to early failures in tech, too much invested too early and significantly cheaper competition from China. The industry there has the opportunity to use India as a scaling up location and therefore a ‘life boat’ until such time as the European hydrogen sector wakes up again.”

“Nel has tied up with Reliance and McPhy with L&T to name just two. These two and other similar tech will get their first go live opportunity in 2025.  If successful, you can expect to see large MW scale roll outs of electrolyser plants in India targeted to large scale Indian projects. This has brought the IEW into focus given how pivotal the year is going to be for the sector in India.”

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