Bernard Looney, CEO of BP
BP targets double-digit hydrogen returns
The major aims to establish foundations for ‘a material business’ from 2030s, CEO tells investors
BP will target “double-digit” returns from its hydrogen business, with an ambition to produce 500,000–700,000t/yr of “primarily green” hydrogen from 2030, CEO Bernard Looney told a 2022 results call this morning. BP expects to leverage its refining business to act as anchor offtake for hydrogen projects in the US and Europe in order to build regional hubs with eventual third-party offtake from industries seeking to decarbonise, such as steel. It expects to take FID and begin construction on such projects between 2023 and 2025, with startup from 2025–30. The major also plans to build export hubs for hydrogen and its derivatives, with FID and construction on these projects expected over 2025–3
Also in this section
18 March 2026
The second fossil-fuel price shock in four years can be a much-needed catalyst for investment in the sector
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
