Full speed ahead! Adwin Martens shares his vision for 2025

2025 will undoubtedly be another fascinating year for hydrogen. Despite a number of projects being truly decided upon and built, many ‘yes-no’ discussions are currently resurfacing in the media and during coffee breaks. In the following column, Adwin Martens, founder of WaterstofNet, shares how he views the future with a retrospective look at more than 20 years of experience. Key message: “You make progress by acting thoughtfully, rather than endlessly discussing.”

Europe wastes time in ‘yes-no’ hydrogen debates, while Asia achieves results ‘yes-no’ hydrogen debate

Around 2020, companies, research institutions, governments and media were all tripping over each other to launch increasingly larger hydrogen plans. Hydrogen, the ‘holy grail,’ was seen as the solution to ‘many problems.’ It was also expected to happen very quickly:  big, bigger, biggest.

Reality Check

After the period of euphoria, the realization set in that there were still many challenges ahead. Of course, if it were that simple, it would have already happened. New players without hydrogen experience adjusted their ambitions from ‘megalomaniac’ to ‘realistic.’

Almost 25 years ago, I took my first step into the hydrogen world during a ‘hype moment.’ The first ten years were spent enthusiastically working on hydrogen research. Unfortunately, there was insufficient trust in the technology. Around 2010, even research institutions in Europe began scaling back their efforts. The ‘holy grail’ seemed to be on its way to a definitive end.

Hydrogen projects

However, since 2009, I have been able to take steps with companies and governments in realizing hydrogen projects. Not by shouting from the rooftops, but by developing and, most importantly, realizing challenging, but feasible projects together. These are now players with ‘hydrogen experience’ who, in 2024, are switching gears.

The ‘and-and’ story

While these companies are shifting gears, we also see the ‘yes-no’ debates resurfacing, and the battle between ‘believers and non-believers’ flaring up again. This is especially taking place in Benelux and throughout Europe.

This doesn’t make sense. We need all the solutions that are geopolitically independent, affordable and sustainable. In some sectors, direct electrification will be the dominant solution, while in other sectors, hydrogen or derivative energy carriers will be more attractive. The ‘and-and’ story is inevitable. Only the market and consistent government policies will decide the mix.

While we in Benelux/Europe are debating the pros and cons of hydrogen, we see that Asia is switching gears at an exceptionally high pace. Regions in China have announced that more than 300 kton/year of sustainable hydrogen production capacity is now being built and will be operational in 2025. This is more than half of Belgium’s current hydrogen consumption. We also see that Asian brands are bringing third-generation vehicles onto the roads, while European manufacturers have no hydrogen vehicles for sale. In China, the target is clear: 50,000 hydrogen vehicles and 1,200 refueling stations by 2025.

I believe we should focus our energy on realizing and accelerating hydrogen projects in our region. We host some unique technology players and large end-users.

We must not waste time with endless ‘yes-no’ discussions, but instead, we must realize, evaluate, scale, and communicate concrete projects.