新闻分析｜欧洲氢能发展面临哪些挑战News Analysis | What Challenges Does Europe's Hydrogen Development Face?

According to Green Fuel International Business Network, Xinhua News Agency, Warsaw, August 27 - at the 21st International Symposium on Hydrogen Energy Theory and Engineering Solutions held in Warsaw, Poland, from the 23rd to the 27th, cost, market and supply chain became high-frequency topics. Europe's hydrogen energy development is shifting from technology- and policy-driven to a more realistic test of economics.

After the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, many European countries substantially adjusted their energy import sources, but the dependence has not disappeared. European Commission data show that 57% of the EU's energy consumption still comes from imported fossil fuels, with related imports worth about €340 billion in 2025. This year the European Commission launched the "Accelerate the EU" package of action plans, viewing the clean energy transition as a need of the economy, competitiveness and security. Industry insiders generally believe that the importance of hydrogen energy lies in "plugging the gap" for systems with a high share of renewable energy and for hard-to-abate industries.

Commercialization has yet to break through. A report released by the International Energy Agency in June said that global hydrogen demand exceeded 100 million tonnes in 2025, almost all concentrated in traditional uses such as refining and industry, with low-carbon hydrogen output at only about 1 million tonnes; global installed electrolyzer capacity doubled last year to more than 4 GW, but market expansion has been slower than expected. By 2030, low-carbon hydrogen output with investment commitments and that is fairly likely to come on stream is expected to fall from 10 million tonnes to about 6 million tonnes, with high costs, uncertain demand, complex regulations and insufficient infrastructure remaining the main obstacles.

On the supply chain side, the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act has incorporated supply chain resilience into clean technology procurement and new energy auctions. A guidance document released by the European Commission in July this year proposed that public spending should not only reward the lowest price but should also consider a project's contribution to the sustainability and resilience of Europe's clean energy supply chain. Poland has joined with European partners including Italy, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Norway and Denmark to advance hydrogen energy technology progress and industrial deployment.

International Energy Agency data show that global installed electrolyzer capacity doubled to more than 4 GW in 2025, with China contributing nearly three quarters of the newly added capacity. Polish and Chinese research institutions have already carried out cooperation in materials research and system construction, and the two sides are jointly exploring ways to move technology from the laboratory to manufacturing and the market, with future cooperation potentially extending to trade and industrial applications.