The 2026 edition of Energy Technology Perspectives is published against the backdrop of a fast-changing policy and technology landscape. Governments are working to establish secure and resilient supply chains for clean energy technologies while advancing key energy policy goals such as energy security, affordability and economic competitiveness, as well as climate and other environmental goals. In a landscape that is constantly evolving, this report aims to deliver timely insights into the status and outlook of technology deployment, manufacturing, project pipelines, investments, and trade of different energy technologies and materials. The aim is to provide useful analysis that can inform the considerations of policy makers around the world.
Key highlights from the report with respect to green hydrogen include:
There are many growth opportunities for low-emissions fuels, especially those that can be directly used in existing infrastructure. In several segments – notably cars – low-emissions fuels are not only competing with fossil fuels, but increasingly with the rising use of electricity. Increased use of fuels that are more costly and still at low levels of market penetration, such as sustainable aviation fuels and other hydrogen-based fuels, would require stronger policy support.
The market outlook for low- and near-zero emissions materials is very uncertain as production cost premiums remain high. Technologies like cement kilns fitted with carbon capture, and steel furnaces using electrolytic hydrogen, are expected to cost significantly more than their conventional counterparts over the next decade in most regions.
There is evidence of progress – albeit less steady – for technologies at an early stage of deployment, and this is moving faster than many people think. Low-emissions hydrogen production; carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS); and near-zero emissions material production typically involve large engineering projects that rely on policy support to scale up and reduce costs.
Earlier high investor confidence and policy ambition has weakened recently, but growth opportunities exist. Global investment in low-emissions hydrogen production climbed to nearly USD 8 billion in 2025 – year-on-year growth of 80% – and expected growth in electrolyser deployment to 2030 is similar to the expansion seen as solar PV began to ramp up.
In upstream industries like steel, aluminium and chemicals, energy costs remain critical to competitiveness in near-zero emissions material production. Energy costs can account for over two-thirds of total production costs in upstream industries; for near-zero emissions technologies, energy spending could be several times higher.
Low-cost renewables could make hydrogen-based steelmaking cost-competitive with conventional technologies in the future under specific conditions in some major steel-producing countries like the United States, China and India. In others, like Europe and Japan, higher prices mean production costs would remain 50-80% higher than elsewhere, surpassing regional differences for conventional steel production. Yet offshoring ironmaking to regions with competitive renewables could cut these cost differences to 30-40%, with limited effects on jobs.
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