Hydrogen Stocks Crash as Hype Faces Reality Check 

Will the climate alarm spending and subsidy bubble go the way of the boom-and-bust dot-com bubble of the late 1990’s? Leaders can and do make grandiose climate policy decrees, but Big Green needs constant handouts which eat into economies that meet its demands. Meanwhile energy costs are driven upwards and renewables make electricity grids struggle to remain stable, but there’s no detectable effect on the claimed objective of it all i.e. CO2 levels. In the case of hydrogen, attempts to create a market for the product are going badly.
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The low-carbon hydrogen hype has begun to fade in recent months as companies and investors realize that their ambitions face the reality of costly projects amid regulatory stumbling blocks and uncertain future demand, says OilPrice.com.

The momentum behind green hydrogen from two years ago, generated by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), has slowed amid still high costs and macroeconomic headwinds. In addition, regulatory uncertainty and a lack of committed demand are undermining the 2030 production goals for low-carbon hydrogen, both in the United States and Europe.

As a result, investors are re-thinking funding, companies are re-drawing hydrogen production strategies, and share prices of major hydrogen players are crashing.

For example, Denmark’s Green Hydrogen Systems (CPH: GREENH), a provider of standardized, modular alkaline electrolyzers, has plunged by 65% year to date. U.S.-based Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) has seen its stock tumble by 53% year to date, and Ballard Power Systems Inc (NASDAQ: BLDP) has crashed by 58%.

Other firms focused on green hydrogen and technologies have also seen their share prices battered amid signs that despite progress in project announcements, project commitments with final investment decisions (FID) are a fraction of the total pipeline of projects.
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Even the International Energy Agency (IEA), the most vocal backer of all things renewable, has warned that policy and demand uncertainty are slowing down green hydrogen adoption globally.

According to the IEA, the main reasons for the slow uptake of low-carbon hydrogen “include unclear demand signals, financing hurdles, delays to incentives, regulatory uncertainties, licensing and permitting issues and operational challenges.”

Full article here.