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Blue Hydrogen Leaders – H1 2026

By the end of Q4 2025, the total active and pipeline capacity for blue hydrogen reached approximately 13.7mtpa, contributing to 10% of total low-carbon hydrogen capacity. Shell, Equinor, Air Products and Chemicals, Nutrien, ExxonMobil, and Fidelis Infrastructure are the leading companies investing in blue hydrogen projects. Although ExxonMobil was previously the leader in blue hydrogen capacity, the shelving of its flagship Baytown Hydrogen Project has dropped it to fifth in the rankings. Air Products has also fallen in the rankings, with the company announcing it had taken a $3.1 billion write-down on three abandoned projects due to stringent regulations and commercial headwinds.
By the end of Q4 2025, the total active and pipeline CCS capacity associated with blue hydrogen production reached 109 million CO2 tons per year. In terms of associated Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) capacity, key companies such as Fidelis Infrastructure, Air Products and Chemicals, Clean Hydrogen Works, Bakken Energy, Linde, St Charles Clean Fuels, TotalEnergies, and L’Air Liquide are leading the way in capturing CO2 during the production of blue hydrogen.
As energy companies diversify and new players enter the hydrogen market, many EPC contractors are aiming to increase their presence in this space. The leading EPC companies for blue projects are Samsung Group, Worley, Linde, AtkinsRealis Group, Mitsubishi Corp, and L’Air Liquide, based on the hydrogen production capacity of their respective projects.

As of Q4 2025, blue hydrogen accounts for 77% of active low-carbon hydrogen capacity, with blue hydrogen projects totaling 1.7mtpa of hydrogen capacity and 9.6 million tons of CCS capacity. This has been facilitated by the relative ease of retrofitting existing grey hydrogen production with CCUS technology compared to developing greenfield projects. Furthermore, announced and planned projects account for an added 12.0mtpa of hydrogen capacity and almost 100 million tons of CCS capacity. Compared to H2 2025, blue hydrogen pipeline capacity has reduced by around 1.8mtpa, largely due to the shelving of ExxonMobil’s 900ktpa Baytown Blue Hydrogen Project. The reduction in pipeline capacity was also driven by CF Industries commencing operations at its 299ktpa Donaldsonville Blue Hydrogen Project in July 2025.

The shelving of ExxonMobil’s Baytown Hydrogen Project has significantly altered the landscape of blue hydrogen leaders. The project was the second-largest blue hydrogen project in development globally and had made notable progress by securing ADNOC as an equity partner for a 35% stake and signing an offtake agreement with Marubeni for approximately 250ktpa of low-carbon ammonia in May 2025. The company has since announced that a key driver for shelving the project was that it had been unable to sign offtake agreements for the remaining output due to the high costs of blue hydrogen and demand uncertainty in key markets, such as Europe. It also stated that the Trump administration’s accelerated phase-out of the 45V tax credit had hindered the project.

Yet, there have also been recent examples of progress within the blue hydrogen market. Samsung announced it had broken ground on the Wabash Low-Carbon Ammonia Plant in the US, which would convert coal into 500ktpa of blue ammonia. This follows the US Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office announcing it had closed a $1.5 billion loan to support the project in October 2025.