The EU Commission presented the Industrial Accelerator Act on March 4. The law aims to strengthen European manufacturing through "Made in EU" and CO2 requirements. For hydrogen, it offers less than some had hoped.

A European consortium led by the Spanish research center Cener aims to further develop solid oxide electrolysis. In the Desiree project, a 40 kW prototype is to be created by 2029, achieving an efficiency of over 85 percent and providing hydrogen without additional electrical compression.

The EU-funded consortium Eco2Fuel aims to present progress in electrochemical CO2 reduction by the end of April. The focus is on a validated 50 kW electrolyser system designed to convert CO2 into synthetic fuels and chemicals using electricity.

The Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) at RWTH Aachen University leads the federally funded research project DigHy. The aim is a digitized hydrogen infrastructure for mining, which will supply heavy vehicles emission-free with hydrogen produced by electrolysis from treated mine water.

The French geoscience company Mantle8 has entered into a strategic partnership with the seismic service provider S³. This secures Mantle8 access to its own fleet of seismic sensors to explore natural hydrogen deposits worldwide more quickly.

At the Sea Lapland Hydrogen Day 2026 on February 11 in Kemi, Finland's north presented itself as a future hydrogen hub for Europe. The five municipalities of Tornio, Keminmaa, Kemi, Simo, and Tervola jointly courted international investors.

At the North Sea Summit in Hamburg BDEW and AquaVentus are calling for stronger European cooperation in offshore wind expansion—and for the systematic integration of offshore electrolysis into national and regional planning. Studies show that lower spatial density, cross-border area cooperation and combined infrastructure solutions can significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency.

The Berlin-based company Graforce has completed a strategic financing round in the double-digit million range. An international consortium of investors is financing the industrial scaling of methane plasma pyrolysis, which is expected to produce hydrogen at costs of 2 to 3 euros per kilogram.

A consortium of companies from Austria, France, and Germany has applied for funding from the EU Hydrogen Bank with the Alpine Hydrogen project. In Tyrol, green hydrogen is to be produced for the regional industry using alkaline electrolysis and novel electrodes.

The municipality of Bosbüll in North Frisia is expanding its district heating network. In the future, process heat from local hydrogen production will also be fed into the system. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2025.

The Swiss company Infener wants to promote hydrogen throughout Europe. Decentralized H₂ hubs will be used to generate green electricity as well as green heat. The Ecore One is a compact containerized solution that combines various energy technologies in one unit: electrolyzer, fuel cell and battery as well as compressor and a heat pump with its own energy management system or EMS. H₂ production is due to start 2027 at a site in the Black Forest, Germany. However, the needs of regional industry are already far greater today.

The Renewable Energies Hamburg Cluster Agency (EEHH) has launched a digital hydrogen marketplace for the metropolitan region. The free platform aims to connect producers, consumers, and service providers along the hydrogen value chain.

The hydrogen ramp-up in Germany is not failing due to a lack of interest from companies. On the contrary, regulatory, economic, and infrastructural risks, also at the EU level, are hindering investments along the value chain. This is shown by a study from BDEW and Capgemini.

Fraunhofer ISE has developed a process that significantly reduces the cost of producing dimethyl ether, or DME. This energy carrier could play an important role in future hydrogen imports. A pilot plant is now planned in Chile.

The module manufacturer Longi is entering the storage sector with its own all-in-one solution. The company aims to position itself as an integrated provider of solar, storage and hydrogen solutions. Longi’s newly presented strategy highlights its key priorities.