Europeans invest more in hydrogen

The European chemical industry has taken further steps toward increasing its output of green hydrogen, made using water electrolysis powered by renewable energy, and blue hydrogen, made by reforming methane into hydrogen and then capturing and storing the by-product carbon dioxide. The industrial gas firm Air Liquide says it will invest $9.5 billion to triple sales from its low-carbon hydrogen business to $7 billion by 2035. In another initiative, BP says it plans to build England’s biggest facility for blue hydrogen in Teesside. The project will generate 1 GW of blue hydrogen—20% of the UK’s 2030 target for low-carbon H₂—and store up to 2 million metric tons of CO₂ annually. Meanwhile, Ineos has acquired Hess’s Danish oil and gas interests for $150 million, which will provide the firm with substantial storage capacity for CO₂. Finally, Haldor Topsoe has signed a deal with Aquamarine Investment Partners to build a facility for solid-oxide electrolyzer cells in Germany. The facility will make green hydrogen that will be converted into ammonia for use as a marine fuel or fertilizer.