Samsung E&A has announced the launch of CompassH2, a green hydrogen production plant solution developed in collaboration with Norwegian electrolyser manufacturer Nel. According to Samsung E&A, the system is designed to deliver a high level of performance and cost-competitiveness by integrating engineering services with Nel’s electrolyser technology.
With CompassH2, Samsung E&A is extending its business scope to include the installation and operation of electrolysers.
The solution is designed to optimise capital expenditure and achieve a low levelised cost of hydrogen. It offers performance guarantees under defined conditions and supports scalability, starting with an initial production capacity of 100 MW. According to the company, CompassH2 is capable of producing hydrogen at a purity that meets the highest industrial standards. The solution is also supported by Samsung E&A’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services, and is intended to cover the full project lifecycle – from feasibility studies through to delivery and warranty – while seamlessly integrating downstream processes.
The French Government has launched a consultation on a mandate that would see clean hydrogen meet 1.5% of transport fuel by 2030, with penalties for non-compliance.
The ecological transition ministry has proposed a mechanism that sets specific quotas for fuel suppliers in an aim to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across transport sectors between 2026 and 2035.
From 2026, France would require green hydrogen, in line with the EU’s renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) rules, to meet 0.1% of fuel demand in 2026, ramping up annually to 2% by 2035.
Dubbed the Incentive for the Reduction of Carbon Intensity of Fuels (IRICC), the measure will replace the existing TIRUERT system, which provides tax incentives by allowing charging and hydrogen refuelling station developers to issue renewable energy certificates. It comes as the country looks to transpose the EU’s renewable energy directive (REDIII) targets, which include having green hydrogen meet 1% of transport fuel by 2030.
France also proposed penalties for non-compliance to ensure uptake. The ministry intends to fine €80 per Gj for fuel suppliers who fall short, as well as €700/tonne of CO2 they fail to avoid by falling short.
The consultation will remain open until 10 June.
The proposal comes after Finland and Denmark issued their plans, with the Finns aiming for a 4% quota by 2030.
Last month, France cut its 2030 hydrogen production target by 2GW to 4.5GW after acknowledging challenges in market and technology development, compared to “rapid advances” in other methods
Despite being a promising and efficient methodology for producing green hydrogen as a novel energy vector, anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) have yet to achieve significant commercial success. This is primarily due to the sluggish and complex oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode, which remains the main bottleneck for this technology. To enhance the OER kinetics with minimum overpotentials, scarce and overpriced noble metal-based electrocatalysts are largely utilized, making the AEMWEs practically unaffordable. Recently, amorphous NiFe mixed oxides with variable Ni/Fe ratios have been synthesized using a simple and affordable sol–gel method, successfully enhancing both the OER activity and operational durability in AEMWEs. This work was published inIndustrial Chemistry & Materials in March 2025.
AEMWEs are considered one of the most reliable technologies to produce green hydrogen, which is a novel energy vector, paving the way towards a sustainable future with environmental safety by mitigating issues such as global warming and climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels. However, the mass-scale deployment of the AEMWEs is still restricted, stemming from the anode side involving sluggish and complex OER, which is usually dealt with by scarce and overpriced noble metal-based electrocatalysts. Being a reliable substitute for noble metal-based electrocatalysts, Ni-Fe mixed oxides are drawing scientific attention, which is attributed to their higher abundance, low cost, favorable electronic structure, adjustable stoichiometries, and intrinsic electrocatalytic activities. However, a straightforward and affordable sol-gel synthesis pathway for amorphous Ni-Fe mixed oxides tailored for OER applications has been lacking. It is important to note that the synthesis design, stoichiometry, and physicochemical properties of the resulting electrocatalysts critically influence their overall OER performance. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of these factors in the development of amorphous NiFe mixed oxides through a simple and controllable fabrication method constitutes an important research gap.
Under the leadership of Prof. Carlo Santoro and Prof. Roberto Nisticò, a multidisciplinary team of scientists from various research and academic institutions recently endeavored to synthesize nanostructured amorphous Ni-Fe mixed oxides with varying Ni/Fe ratios. The morphological, structural, and physicochemical characteristics of the complete array of such Ni-Fe oxides with different Ni/Fe ratios were thoroughly analyzed. Moreover, the corresponding electrocatalytic activities towards OER were evaluated as a function of ink formulations and electrocatalyst loading through rotating ring electrode methodology. Hence, the evolved electrocatalysts demonstrated optimal OER performance and excellent durability when configured as an anode in lab-scale AEMWEs. Among the variants, Ni:Fe = 0.75:0.25 oxide exhibited the peak performance, achieving a low overpotential of 291 mV. The same material rationalized the highest current density and remarkable stability over 100 hours in the AEMWE operating at 80 °C. This superior activity was attributed to a higher concentration of Ni³⁺ (NiOOH), a highly active species for the OER, while getting the synergic effects from the amorphous architectures.
Building on this initial success, the research team aims to further enhance the electrocatalytic properties of the developed Ni-Fe oxide-based materials by optimizing their morphology, structural characteristics, and surface chemistry. These improvements are expected to further reduce overpotentials and boost overall OER performance.
The research team includes: Lorenzo Mirizzi, Mohsin Muhyuddin, Carmelo Lo Vecchio, Erminia Mosca, Vincenzo Baglio, Irene Gatto, Enrico Berretti, Alessandro Lavacchi, Valerio CA Ficca, Rosanna Viscardi, Roberto Nisticò and Carlo Santoro. The work was a collaborative effort of the University of Milano-Bicocca (Milan), the CNR-ITAE Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche Institute for Advanced Energy Technologies (Messina), CNR-ICCOM Istituto di Chimica Dei Composti Organo Metallici-Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (Firenze) and ENEA Casaccia Research Center (Rome), Italy.
Statkraft has decided to stop new development of green hydrogen due to increased uncertainty in the market. Parts of the portfolio will be matured before seeking investors to realise the projects.
Statkraft has developed expertise and created value in green hydrogen projects in line with our strategy across various European markets, including Norway, Sweden, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.
The company has decided to halt new development of hydrogen, though parts of the portfolio will be further matured before seeking investors to realise the projects. Several projects have received substantial external funding opportunities, and the company is working with authorities to ensure their progression.
“After reducing the ambition level on green hydrogen development last year, we are experiencing even more uncertainty in the market. Therefore, Statkraft has decided to stop new development of green hydrogen and going forward we will prioritise growth opportunities in other technologies, and market operations,” says Birgitte Ringstad Vartdal, President and CEO of Statkraft.
Statkraft continues to believe in the long-term future of green hydrogen and its importance in reducing emissions from carbon-intensive industries. Market activities related to hydrogen will continue to be part of Statkraft’s portfolio.
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Statkraft is a leading company in hydropower internationally and Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy. The Group produces hydropower, wind power, solar power, gas-fired power and supplies district heating. Statkraft is a global company in energy market operations. Statkraft has around 7,000 employees in more than 20 countries.
The EU’s hydrogen push in North Africa is sold as climate progress, but beneath the green gloss lies a familiar story of extraction, debt, and dispossession.
