Carbon Capture Technology World Expo
Hydrogen Technology Expo 2025: Learnings
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At the recent Hydrogen Technology Expo 2025 in Hamburg (21–23 Oct), one message cut through: execution now outranks ambition. More than a thousand exhibitors showcased tangible progress—booths were larger, discussions more focused, and the centre of gravity had clearly shifted from pilots to plants. Together, these signs underscored a single truth: hydrogen is moving from promise to production.
In this blog post, we share our observations and reflections from the event—and how they align with Exion Hydrogen’s philosophy.
Industrialisation and ScaleThe transition from concept to construction is unmistakable. Across regions, projects are advancing to commissioning, with supply chains maturing around the realities of installation and operations.
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Infrastructure first. Pipelines, compression, storage, and import terminals dominated traffic—evidence that hydrogen’s logistics backbone is being built in parallel with production.
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Electrolyzer deployment is real. Global installed electrolysis capacity reached 2 GW by end-2024, with another 1 GW added by mid-2025, mainly driven by China.
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BoP matters most. Valves, actuators, sealing, metrology, and controls drew heavy interest because uptime and serviceability drive bankability more than incremental stack efficiency.
Global hydrogen demand has now surpassed 100 million tonnes per year, up 2 % from 2023, with ~70 % still concentrated in refining and chemicals—a reminder of both progress and concentration.
The tone across the floor was practical optimism—progress anchored in engineering discipline and delivery.
Technology Maturation
Innovation is shifting from materials breakthroughs to whole-system performance:
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Iridium reduction and alternatives. Nanostructured catalysts and new deposition methods are now achieving near-commercial performance with far lower critical-metal content.
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Materials and safety. Certified hydrogen-rated elastomers, advanced composites, and continuous monitoring support higher duty cycles with lower risk.
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Next-gen stacks. SOEC and AEM technologies show efficiency gains versus 2023 baselines, but like-for-like comparisons remain essential across duty profile and BoP integration.
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TCO over CAPEX. While headline CAPEX keeps falling, OPEX and lifetime economics remain the decisive differentiators.
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Hydrogen-to-power. Grid-balancing and peak-shaving solutions are linking renewables with real-time demand.
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Digitalisation. Precision manufacturing and AI-assisted operations are cutting scrap and extending component life.
Buyers have recalibrated their questions. Theoretical peak efficiency is less compelling than availability targets, service intervals, and spares commonality.
Execution remains the gating factor:
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Permitting pragmatism is unlocking near-term projects.
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Green and blue pathways are now viewed as complementary—blue hydrogen bridging today’s production gap while renewables scale.
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Investors want verified performance data, warranties that matter, and contracted offtake.
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Partnerships are moving from MoUs to production-scale alliances among OEMs, EPCs, and industrial end users.
IEA data (*) confirm that only 4.2 Mt H₂ per year of low-emission capacity worldwide is actually operational, under construction, or at FID, out of a 37 Mt pipeline to 2030—a stark reminder that execution, not ambition, is the premium.
Read more here: Hydrogen Technology Expo 2025: Learnings - Exion Hydrogen
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