‘Energy security will likely emerge as a decisive driver of hydrogen investment and policy, as governments in energy importing countries seek to reduce exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets and protect critical industries. The current geopolitical situation is accelerating final investment decisions, with 10mn t/y of renewable electrolysis-based capacity added by 2030 on top of 1.5mn t/y installed in 2025.’

Its Energy transition outlook: hydrogen to 2060 report has revised down its mid-century outlook by 25% since its last (2022) report, but even so predicts production to grow 100 times. A third of that growth comes from China.

Clean hydrogen uptake is expected to be strongest in emerging demand sectors by 2060, led by steelmaking (18% of total clean hydrogen use), aviation (18%) and maritime (15%), followed by fertiliser and methanol.

DNV said there were still some technical hurdles to overcome for hydrogen to succeed. ‘Going forward, it is about fine-tuning the regulations, implementing these in legislation, and verifying safety concepts, documenting technical performance, and certifying emission reductions. That is how renewable and low-carbon hydrogen can make a difference for hard-to-electrify sectors,’ said Magnus Killingland, Global Segment Lead Hydrogen.

Elsewhere, a clean hydrogen trade body, the European Resilience Alliance for Clean Hydrogen & Derivatives (ERA), has been established by a number European industrial companies and in cooperation with trade association Hydrogen Europe.

At the launch, MEP Andrea Wechsler said: ‘Europe’s energy transition is not just about decarbonisation – it is about building a resilient sovereign energy system that delivers for both citizens and industry. Resilience must become one of the guiding principles of our energy policy, grounded in diversification, system integration and credible market frameworks that turn ambition into investment.’

The group aims to provide a unified voice to policymakers, create the conditions for a cost-competitive clean energy value chain and coordinate from energy production and infrastructure to industrial demand and finance to identify and resolve practical bottlenecks. Reducing the cost of electricity, which it says accounts for 70% of the cost of hydrogen, is said to be a key priority.

ERA’s founding members include Enagás, Fluxys, Fortum, Gasgrid Finland, Moeve, Nordion Energi, OGE, RWE Generation, SEFE, Stegra and Thyssenkrupp.

To coincide with its launch, ERA has released a white paper that highlights that despite a large pipeline of projects across the clean hydrogen value chain, fewer than 7% have reached a final investment decision (FID). The paper identifies the reasons why Europe’s clean hydrogen deployment is falling behind ambition, namely the fragmented implementation of EU regulation, complex renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) rules, high electricity costs, insufficient demand certainty, and uncertainty around infrastructure development.