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Blue Hydrogen Leaders – H2 2026

By the end of Q2 2026, the total active and pipeline capacity for blue hydrogen reached approximately 12.9mtpa, which represents just under 10% of total low-carbon hydrogen and derivative capacity. The total blue pipeline has declined by 5.8% from the start of Q1 2026, chiefly driven by status changes across large-scale blue hydrogen projects. As a result of these project changes, a slight leadership reshuffle has taken place, with Air Products and Chemicals, Nutrien, Shell, Equinor, ExxonMobil, and Fidelis Infrastructure now representing the leading companies investing in blue hydrogen projects.
By the end of Q2 2026, the total active and pipeline CCS capacity associated with blue hydrogen production reached 102 million CO2 tons per year. In terms of associated Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) capacity, key operators such as Fidelis Infrastructure, Air Products and Chemicals, L’Air Liquide, Bakken Energy, Clean Hydrogen Works, and St Charles Clean Fuels 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 E&A, Multiconsult, Worley, Linde, AtkinsRealis Group, and Mitsubishi Corp, based on the hydrogen production capacity of their respective projects.

Despite recent setbacks to large-scale projects, blue hydrogen remains an important technology pathway and accounts for 75% of active low-carbon production capacity. Blue hydrogen and derivative projects also contribute 23% to the capacity that is currently in the construction phase, signalling the technology’s role in supporting the growth of the sector.

However, although CCUS retrofits create decarbonization potential for existing grey hydrogen plants and their consumer industries, the need to establish CCUS infrastructure is limiting the extent to which blue hydrogen can provide near-term scaling. For example, in March 2026, a spokesperson for the Uniper Killingholme Blue project confirmed that the project was not being actively progressed, citing offtake as well as a lack of regional CO2 pipeline infrastructure as key uncertainties. Similarly, Kellas Midstream's H2NorthEast project is currently effectively stalled because the Northern Endurance Partnership's CO2 storage infrastructure it depends on is not expected online until 2032. The examples illustrates a wider structural dependency on CCUS infrastructure scaling, which is posing a challenge to progressing blue hydrogen projects that rely on permanent geological carbon storage.

Yet, there have also been recent examples of progress within the blue hydrogen market across H1 2026, with Wabash Valley Resources' clean ammonia project, based in Indiana, starting construction. Construction of Shell’s Polaris hydrogen and CCUS project at the Scotford Energy and Chemicals Park in Alberta is also actively underway. New project announcements in the first half of 2026 also included Victorian Hydrogen’s New Zealand project, which will produce low-carbon fertilizers from brown coal using carbon capture. Instead of geological storage, the project aims to utilize the captured carbon to create products such as animal feed and construction materials.