Hydrogen’s promise as a clean, green fuel faces significant hurdles, with development slowing in Canada and globally.
High costs, infrastructure challenges, electricity supply issues, and market uncertainties have stalled progress, casting doubt on hydrogen’s role as the fuel of the future.
In British Columbia, hydrogen projects are struggling.
CBC News reported earlier in 2025 that at least seven large-scale B.C. hydrogen initiatives were paused or cancelled.
And now, Burnaby-based Ballard Power, a leader in hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles, is tightening its belt, announcing cost-cutting measures aimed at reducing expenses by at least 30% and implementing “immediate workforce adjustments.”
“This is Ballard’s second major restructuring in less than a year, underscoring growing pressure in the clean energy sector amid slower-than-expected hydrogen adoption and capital market constraints,” said Samfiru Tumarkin.
Government hasn’t fully given up.
The British Columbia Energy Regulator (BCER) has been collaborating with the hydrogen sector, First Nations, and communities to introduce streamlined requirements under the new Hydrogen Facility Regulation, classifying facilities based on production capacity and on-site hydrogen storage.
Meanwhile, Foresight Canada and the Clean Energy and Major Projects Office (CEMPO) launched an initiative to position B.C. as a key player in North America’s hydrogen economy, citing the province’s infrastructure and partnerships.
HTEC, which operates Canada’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations, opened its sixth retail station in Vancouver and received $49 million from Ottawa’s Strategic Innovation Fund to support a $472-million project in North Vancouver. This facility will capture and liquefy 15 tonnes of industrial by-product hydrogen daily, turning waste into clean fuel.
Additionally, a hydrogen fuel-cell truck is being tested in Prince Rupert as part of Innovate BC’s Heavy Duty Zero Emissions Vehicle Pilot Project.
Updates on other B.C. projects are scarce, however.
Nationally, Canada’s Hydrogen Strategy, released in December 2020, aims to support net-zero ambitions by 2050.
Canada, a top-10 global hydrogen producer, primarily uses hydrogen in oil refining, ammonia, methanol, and steel production.
In 2024, Ottawa allocated $9.14 million for hydrogen projects and $466,956 to the Canadian Hydrogen Association to elevate B.C.’s hydrogen and fuel-cell sector globally.
Within Canada, two companies are exploring ‘natural hydrogen’ in and around Lake Timiskaming between Ontario and Quebec.
A key international hydrogen effort is the proposed Canada-Germany Hydrogen Alliance, part of a “Transatlantic Hydrogen Trade Corridor” originally announced by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in 2022.
Trudeau at that time threw shade at the idea of LNG exports to Europe from the East Coast, saying there had “never been a strong business case” for it. He spoke instead of hydrogen exports to Germany, but never did reveal the business case for it.
Ottawa later began to suggest that more than $600 million would be needed to make this a reality, but then came the 2025 federal election, and no more was heard.
Globally, hydrogen demand is growing, but the International Energy Agency notes that most projects remain in planning stages, with many facing delays or cancellations due to unclear demand, financing challenges, regulatory uncertainties, and operational issues.
In the U.S, where President Donald Trump’s s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ scraps tax credits for solar and wind projects in 2027, the Hydrogen Production Tax Credit is still in effect.
But the deadline for projects to claim the full benefit has been moved up to January 1, 2028, from January 1, 2033, making development more challenging.
We’ve seen some US interest in hydrogen to generate power for burgeoning AI data and energy hubs, and “Hydrogen City, an integrated clean energy plant with a $10 billion investment that will begin supplying hydrogen in 2028.”
Seattle is also looking at how a hydrogen pilot project could transform how the city generates power.
But we’ve also seen how Thyssenkrupp Nucera has some green-hydrogen development plans because of Trump’s tax and spending changes.
Interest in hydrogen for AI data centres and projects like “Hydrogen City” — a $10-billion clean energy plant set to supply hydrogen by 2028 — shows promise, but setbacks, such as Thyssenkrupp Nucera decision to abandon some green-hydrogen plans due to U.S. tax policy changes, highlight ongoing challenges.
While B.C. and Canada push for leadership in the hydrogen economy, slow adoption, high costs, and market uncertainties continue to delay its transformative impact.
All in all, then, hydrogen’s role as the clean and green “fuel of the future” has yet to make its full mark.
