Berlin, Germany – Uniper, the German energy giant operating 22.5 GW of production capacity—equivalent to the total capacity of the Netherlands—has announced a delay in its $8.7 billion hydrogen investment due to lower-than-expected demand for green hydrogen.
Jutta Doenges, Uniper’s Chief Financial Officer, expressed a cautious outlook for the sector, stating, “We are now less optimistic about the timeline for implementing a green hydrogen economy.” The decision reflects the challenges of developing a robust market for green hydrogen, a key component of the global push toward decarbonization.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the creation of a new hydrogen market. In response to concerns about how this slowdown might affect the nation’s carbon neutrality goals, the ministry emphasized the complexity of building a nascent industry and the associated risks.
Uniper’s announcement underscores the hurdles faced by hydrogen technology, from scaling production to securing market demand, even as Europe remains committed to its ambitious decarbonization objectives.