Oxford – State of the European Hydrogen Market Report, 2024

The report highlights the importance of developing a hydrogen economy to achieve Net Zero targets in the EU by 2050. However, current regulatory frameworks in the EU and UK differ in their approach to low-carbon hydrogen policy, with the UK emphasizing technology neutrality and the EU focusing on renewability. Progress in the low-carbon hydrogen market deployment has been slow, with both regions unlikely to meet their targets for 2030. European governments need to make more ambitious policy implementations to kickstart the hydrogen market, particularly in terms of implementing quotas for hydrogen use and expanding domestic electrolyser manufacturing. Currently, funding is concentrated in a few EU countries, with projects struggling to move past the planning stages. Key indicators of progress in the next year will include the advancement of projects from the European Hydrogen Bank auction, FIDs on UK low-carbon hydrogen projects, and the signing of firm offtake agreements between customers and suppliers. More efforts are needed to encourage potential off-takers to commit to purchasing low-carbon hydrogen to support the targets.