Letter on hydrogen: Has the hydrogen bubble burst?

Multiple projects have been scrapped and valuations have nosedived, but the IEA says hydrogen is no passing fad

Ever since the dot.com crash of the early 2000s, investors have been on high alert for the formation of bubbles with the potential to burst. Clean hydrogen arguably entered bubble territory about three years ago, as the massive Neom green project in Saudi Arabia reached financial close at a hugely inflated investment value of just over $8b. At that time, often sketchy plans for gigawatt-scale projects were springing up around the world, seemingly with little regard for capital or operational costs or, most importantly, the need for willing offtakers. Governments cheered from the sidelines, setting ambitious expansion targets for 2030 and beyond, and offering bigger and bigger subsidies to th