Four companies join Hydrogen Council

Four multinational corporations have joined the Hydrogen Council (HC), bringing membership of the CEO-led initiative to 145 firms as investors and businesses increasingly prioritise the role of hydrogen assets in the energy transition.

Japanese firms Asahi Kasei Corporation and IHI Corporation, and Canadian energy infrastructure firm TC Energy joined as steering members, while Rotterdam-based storage company Advario becomes a supporting member.

According to Yoshinori Kanehana, chairman of Kawasaki Industries and co-chair of the Hydrogen Council: “The council has seen strong growth this year with a total of 22 new members from a wide range of geographies and sectors. This highlights the rising interest in hydrogen and affirms hydrogen’s vital role to realise a cleaner and more sustainable society.”

The Hydrogen Council was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2017 by 13 founding members spanning the energy, transportation and manufacturing sectors, including BMW, Daimler, Shell, and Toyota. It is intended to provide investors with an access point to the hydrogen sector, which has high growth potential but can be capital intensive.

Decarbonisation tool

Core objectives of the council are to increase recognition of hydrogen as a critical decarbonisation tool, overcome obstacles in its use to address energy security and sustainability, and to work with policymakers, businesses, and international agencies to drive collaboration.

Hydrogen is expected to play a key role as a diversifying energy source and will enable technological innovation, driving long-term economic growth and decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors.

HC investor group members include Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, BNP Paribas, Barclays, Credit Agricole and Natixis.

Daryl Wilson, HC executive director, told Net Zero Investor that the council believes 20% of final energy use will be from hydrogen by 2050, though it will not be the only solution to the transition.

He said the council’s objective was to raise awareness about the role hydrogen will play in the shift to sustainable energy sources, and that it was also focused on implementation.

The council currently tracks 680 hydrogen projects with $260bn of private investment and $100bn of investment from public sources, Wilson highlighted.

“The HC is also a platform for collaboration for investors. For example, Hy24, a joint venture between Ardian and FiveT Hydrogen is a $2bn fund entirely dedicated to clean hydrogen and includes 40 investor syndicate members who came together through the Hydrogen Council.

“We are key enablers for the sector and for ESG investors and we also work to drive transparency and certification, including across guarantees of origin and on accountability.”

According to the International Energy Agency, worldwide demand for hydrogen climbed to 94m tonnes in 2021, exceeding the previous annual high of 91m reached in 2019.

The US is the world’s second largest producer of hydrogen after China and accounts for 13% of global demand.

While hydrogen is expected to play a key role in Europe’s decarbonisation efforts, actual market uptake has been slow amid a backdrop of regulatory uncertainty.

The UK government’s energy security strategy, published in April, laid out plans to double targets for hydrogen production.