The Hydrogen Stream: Germany audit warns of missed H2 goals

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Germany’s Federal Court of Audit (Bundesrechnungshof) says the nation’s hydrogen strategy is falling short despite heavy subsidies, while Pulsenics and Endua have launched the first commercial AI-based monitoring system to improve electrolyzer performance under fluctuating renewable power conditions.</span></p><p><strong>Germany's Bundesrechnungshof</strong> has assessed the progress and challenges in building a national hydrogen economy, concluding that a “reality check” is needed. <span>&#8220;Despite billions in subsidies, the federal government is failing to meet its ambitious targets for ramping up the hydrogen economy. Supply and demand remain well below expectations. </span><span>This</span><span> jeopardizes the achievement of climate neutrality by 2045 and the future viability of Germany as an industrial location. And as long as there is no prospect of hydrogen becoming price-competitive, continued government subsidies threaten to put further pressure on federal finances, which are already in disarray, &#8220;</span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.bundesrechnungshof.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2025/wasserstoffstrategie.html?nn=23102" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span>said</span></a><span> Kay Scheller, president of the Bundesrechnungshof.</span></p>
<p><strong><span>Pulsenics</span></strong><span>, a Canadian supplier of electrochemical monitoring technology, and </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/?s=Endua" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Endua</a><span>, a Brisbane-based developer of onsite green hydrogen systems, have announced what they call the world's first commercial deployment of AI-enabled spectrum scanning for hydrogen electrolysers. &#8220;Together, the two companies will combine their capabilities to predict how hydrogen electrolysers perform under punishing intermittent power conditions&#8221;, the two companies said in an emailed press release, adding that the partnership integrates Pulsenics' proprietary hardware with Endua's green hydrogen stacks to deliver real-time performance monitoring under highly variable solar conditions. &#8220;This information breakthrough helps hydrogen producers lower costs, extend asset lifetimes, and build confidence in hydrogen as a reliable energy source&#8221;.</span></p>
<p><strong><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/?s=Hyundai" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span>Hyundai Motor</span></a></strong> has <span>started constructing its hydrogen PEM fuel cell production plant in Ulsan, South Korea. &#8220;The plant represents an investment of KRW 930 billion ($650.6 million) and will produce next-generation hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzers for various mobility applications </span><span>including</span><span> passenger vehicles, commercial trucks and buses, construction equipment </span><span>and</span><span> marine vessels,&#8221; </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.hyundainews.com/en-us/releases/4590" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span>said</span></a><span> the South Korean company. Scheduled for completion in 2027, the plant will integrate chemical processing and assembly operations, with an annual production capacity of 30,000 fuel cell units, within a 43,000 square meter facility. </span></p>
<p><strong><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/?s=Plug+Power+" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span>Plug Power</span></a></strong><span> has announced the execution of a binding supply agreement with Allied Biofuels FE (ABF) for up to 2 GW of Plug's GenEco PEM electrolyzer systems. &#8220;The agreement supports ABF's development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), electro-sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF), and green diesel, with a final investment decision expected in the fourth quarter of 2026,&#8221; </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.ir.plugpower.com/press-releases/news-details/2025/Plug-Power-and-Allied-Biofuels-Expand-Partnership-in-Uzbekistan-to-Deploy-Up-to-2-GW-of-GenEco-PEM-Electrolyzers-for-Landmark-eSAF-Project/default.aspx" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span>said</span></a><span> Plug </span><span>Power .</span></p>
<p><strong><span>Chile's</span></strong><span> Colbún has inaugurated the country's first industrial green hydrogen plant at a power generation facility, located within the Nehuenco thermoelectric complex in Quillota, Valparaíso Region. The $1.6 million project uses PV power to produce hydrogen for the cooling system of its generators, replacing gray hydrogen derived from fossil fuels. The facility includes a 100 kW solar array, battery storage, an electrolyzer, and hydrogen storage tanks.</span></p>
<p><strong><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/?s=Statkraft" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span>Statkraft</span></a></strong><span> has confirmed its plans to streamline operations by selling several assets across different geographies. &#8220;In line with the refocused strategy launched in June, Statkraft is reducing the number of countries and technologies, including offshore wind, green hydrogen and biofuels,&#8221; said the hydropower company, </span><span>fully</span><span> owned by the Norwegian state, in an emailed press release.</span></p>
<p><strong><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/?s=Topsoe" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span>Topsoe</span></a></strong><span> has signed an offtake agreement to provide its Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell  (SOEC) technology for </span>Forestal's<span> Triskelion e-methanol plant in Galicia, Spain. &#8220;The </span><span>SOEC's</span><span> will </span><span>be delivered</span><span> from Topsoe's manufacturing facility in Herning, Denmark, which is nearing the final stage of readiness for industrial-scale production,&#8221; </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.topsoe.com/press-releases/forestal-selects-topsoes-breakthrough-soec-technology-for-e-methanol-production" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span>said</span></a><span> the Danish company, adding that Forestal should take the final investment decision (FID) for the Triskelion project in Q2 2026, with commencement of operations planned for 2028.</span></p>