Hydrogen Moves From Hype Cycle to Hard Economics

Hydrogen’s place in the energy transition is changing. After years of hype around its role in reaching net zero, many projects have been delayed or canceled as costs remain high, policy support weakens and demand proves slow to materialize. Yet hydrogen is far from disappearing. Industries already consume vast amounts of the molecule today, and sectors such as fertilizers, refining and potentially steelmaking still have few viable alternatives for deep decarbonization. At the same time, countries like China and India continue to push ahead with deployment and industrial policy support. So after the hype cycle, where does hydrogen actually make economic sense in the energy transition? On today’s show, Tom Rowlands-Rees is joined by Martin Tengler, BloombergNEF’s head of hydrogen research, to discuss some of his department’s recent work, including “No, Iran War Won’t Boost Clean Hydrogen – Except in China” and “Hydrogen Supplier Market Shares 2026: US Blue in the Lead.”

Complementary BNEF research on the trends driving the transition to a lower-carbon economy can be found at BNEF<GO> on the Bloomberg Terminal or on bnef.com

Links to research notes from this episode:

Hydrogen Lifted by AccelerateEU, But Expect No Miracles - https://www.bnef.com/analyst-reactions/tdxp93kk3ny800

Clean Hydrogen Production Assets Update - https://www.bnef.com/insights/39161

No, Iran War Won’t Boost Clean Hydrogen - Except in China - https://www.bnef.com/insights/39077

Hydrogen Supplier Market Shares 2026: US Blue in the Lead - https://www.bnef.com/insights/38839

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