Covid-19 fiscal crunch could slow growth of green H2
Important parts of the renewable hydrogen economy will not reach competitive scale if governments pull back from providing promised support
The pandemic’s impact on government budgets, and therefore on green energy subsidies, may endanger the emergence of green hydrogen at commercial scale, analysts have warned. Green hydrogen is widely expected to be called upon to decarbonise the final 20pc of global energy consumption, especially for hard-to-abate sectors. But its ability to fulfil this role depends on production becoming cost-competitive with more conventional fuels. The cost of green hydrogen is falling and is expected to continue to do so, but production will not reach self-sufficiency unless governments first support adoption through investments and policies. “A government that wants to ‘go for green’ might decide t
Also in this section
2 December 2025
Oil major cites deteriorating demand and a planning debacle as it abandons one of UK’s largest blue hydrogen projects
1 December 2025
Project at Emden in northwest Germany due online in 2027, but wider ramp-up of clean hydrogen sector in Germany will require overhaul of government policy, company warns
25 November 2025
The northwest African country’s vision of integrating green power, molecules and steel is alive and kicking, and serves as a reminder of hydrogen’s transformative potential
19 November 2025
The creation of ‘lead markets’ to generate hydrogen demand in the EU has potential, but implementation would pose complex challenges for producers and industrial offtakers
