There is a growing sense of the viewpoint that the global hydrogen economy is evolving and entering a new inflection point in 2026 and that too in the center of shifting market realities, policy landscapes that are altering, and crucial implementation challenges.
It is well to be noted that as of February 2026, there were more than 460 projects in operation, as opposed to 104 in 2020. These projects had the capacity to generate about 2.2 million tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen per year – mtpa. The fact is that although the number of active projects has grown a lot, the amount of capacity added is still far below what is required to meet the IEA Net Zero Emissions – NZE scenario’s short-term objectives.
Taking into account projects that are currently being developed, the hydrogen production capacity of the world is expected to reach 82.3 million tons per year by 2030. Right now, only about 2% of this capacity comes from plants that are currently running. Another 26% of the capacity comes from projects that are in their development and are more likely to be finished before 2030. The other plants are still in the early stages of development, and about 57% of the capacity is still in the feasibility stage.
There are not many large-scale projects in the hydrogen development field. Just ten of the 2,335 new projects planned around the world will be able to handle more than 1 million tons of cargo per year. A few more will be able to handle more than 0.5 million tons. Nine of these ten high-capacity projects are for green hydrogen, and one is for blue hydrogen.
Interestingly, BP is the leader in green hydrogen among oil and gas companies, with about 3mtpa of active and planned capacity based on flagship projects based in Mauritania, Australia, and Europe. Along with industrial gas leaders such as Air Liquide and Air Products, TotalEnergies has also put more effort into green hydrogen projects. At the same time, Shell and Equinor could be the biggest producers when it comes to blue hydrogen by the end of the decade.
Low-carbon hydrogen capacity around the world in 2030
Green hydrogen has the most announced low-carbon hydrogen capacity.
As demand rises and private investment and supportive policy frameworks grow, global low-carbon hydrogen capacity is expected to grow in the long term. This is because it is a key energy source for companies that want to reach net-zero emissions. The US, Europe, and China, as well as the Middle East, are all major producing areas that are expected to make up most of this future capacity growth. Still, to reach these goals, one needs to get past long-standing financial, regulatory, and infrastructure problems in the near future. This will make sure that project announcements lead to operational capability by the end of the decade.
GlobalData’s most recent theme report, Hydrogen in Oil and Gas, goes into more detail on what oil and gas companies are doing in order to promote the usage of low-carbon hydrogen and other related trends.