Letter on hydrogen: Equinor’s low-carbon retreat
Norwegian energy company has dropped a major hydrogen project and paused its CCS expansion plans as demand fails to materialise
Equinor’s appetite for low-carbon projects has been dwindling for some time, but the Norwegian energy firm has raised eyebrows with recent decisions to axe its largest European blue hydrogen project and to pause all new investments in CCS. The H2M Eemshaven blue hydrogen project in the northeast of the Netherlands, which Equinor has been developing with German industrial gases form Linde, had not reached FID but had been expected to make a sizeable contribution to the EU’s 2030 clean hydrogen production target. The plan had been to start production in 2028 at a rate of 210,000t/yr. Demand for the hydrogen was expected to come from industrial sectors including steel, chemicals and power gener
Also in this section
9 March 2026
Hydrogen has not stalled in the UK because the technology does not work. The problem is that the system around it does not yet move at the speed required
4 March 2026
Turmoil in Middle East reminds nascent clean hydrogen sector that its future prospects are dependent on global energy markets and geopolitics
25 February 2026
Low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia development is advancing much more slowly and unevenly than once expected, with high costs and policy uncertainty thinning investment. Meanwhile, surging energy demand is reinforcing the role of natural gas and LNG as the backbone of the global energy system, panellists at LNG2026 said
18 February 2026
Norwegian energy company has dropped a major hydrogen project and paused its CCS expansion plans as demand fails to materialise






