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With only 5 years left to achieve the ambitious goal of clean hydrogen by 2030, progress in decarbonizing hydrogen production worldwide is generally lagging behind. Currently, the development of clean hydrogen in Europe and the United States faces cost barriers, with global progress in this area being stronger in the East than in the West. The International Energy Agency (IEA) states in its ‘Global Hydrogen Report 2025’ that, based on the projects that have been announced, global annual production of low-carbon and clean hydrogen could reach 37 million tons by 2030, a significant drop from the previous forecast of 49 million tons per year. Although global hydrogen demand in 2024 rose to nearly 100 million tons (an increase of 2% on a year-on-year basis), the use of low-carbon hydrogen accounted for less than 1% of the total, primarily due to cost challenges and insufficient policy support. In addition to the lag in progress, market observers have also noticed a large number of hydrogen energy projects being canceled. Data from the International Hydrogen Committee show that since 2020, over 1,700 clean or low-carbon hydrogen projects have been announced worldwide, but 50 of these projects have been officially canceled in the past 18 months. The Hydrogen Energy Committee states that as of March 2025, 500 hydrogen projects worldwide have reached the final investment decision (FID) stage and are now in the construction or operation phase, with committed investments exceeding $110 billion – a increase of $35 billion compared to the previous year. Of this, 33 billion dollars is from China, 23 billion dollars from North America, and 19 billion dollars from Europe. However, the cost of producing hydrogen from renewable sources is 30% to 65% higher than that of traditional methods; coupled with rising interest rates, increasing costs for energy equipment, and delays in climate policies, the project timelines for hydrogen-related projects are generally extended. Regionally, hydrogen energy investment in North America and Europe has faced difficulties, while it has progressed relatively smoothly in China. Although North America still leads in low-carbon hydrogen production with 85% of capacity commitments, limitations in demand-side policies and the termination of the 45V tax credit provisions due to the Inflation Reduction Act have hindered the United States’ progress in the field of renewable hydrogen. S&P predicts that the abolition of the 45V policy will cause U.S. electrolyzer capacity to drop by more than 60%, leaving only about 2.5 gigawatts by the end of 2030. On October 28, S&P estimated the cost of producing hydrogen via alkaline electrolysis in the U.S. Gulf Coast region (including capital expenditures) to be $3.13 per kilogram, rendering the Biden administration’s goal of reducing this cost to $1 per kilogram within a decade a fantasy. An even greater blow came this month when the U.S. Department of Energy withdrew funding for California’s ARCHES hydrogen hub (1.2 billion dollars) and the Northwest Pacific’s PNWH2 hub (1 billion dollars); the government stated that they were \"not in line with energy needs and were not economically viable.\" Although both projects claim to will move forward, analyses suggest that more funding for hydrogen hubs may be withdrawn. Furthermore, U.S. pressure to delay the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) rules for decarbonizing shipping by 2028 – which call for a carbon price of $100 per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent – has further weakened the market demand for hydrogen-based fuels (ammonia, methanol), which currently account for over 50% of hydrogen purchase agreements. Europe, on the other hand, faces regulatory gridlock and weak demand. Despite leading in the number of FID projects, hydrogen development in Europe has stalled in recent years due to regulatory pressures and weak demand. According to S&P data, Europe will have the highest number of cancellations of clean hydrogen production capacity between 2024 and 2025 worldwide. As clean hydrogen projects in the United States and Europe face obstacles, the focus of the global hydrogen economy is shifting to Asia. According to S&P data, China accounts for 60% of the world’s operational and under-construction renewable hydrogen production capacity. The IEA predicts that, thanks to advantages in technology and capital costs, the cost of renewable hydrogen in China is expected to reach parity with that of hydrogen produced from fossil fuels by 2030. According to S&P’s latest projections, China’s green hydrogen production will reach 33.4 million tons by 2050, far exceeding the 4.7 million tons per year produced in the United States and the 20 million tons per year produced in the European Union. China’s current electrolyzer capacity is 2 gigawatts, accounting for over 70% of the global total. S&P analyst Yasuri Nakamura noted, “The rapid decline in the cost of renewable hydrogen in China is driven by falling capital expenditures on electrolyzers as well as lower costs of renewable energy.” ”With delays in European policies and the withdrawal of U.S. funding, China has become the driving force behind the electrolysis market. According to S&P’s estimates, China’s levelized cost of electricity for wind power will drop from $25 per megawatt-hour in 2025 to $14 per megawatt-hour by 2050, which is lower than the $24 per megawatt-hour in the Gulf of Mexico in the United States and $39 per megawatt-hour in Germany. The cost of electrolytic hydrogen production in China is expected to reach parity with that of hydrogen produced from natural gas using carbon capture technologies by 2050, whereas the United States will have to wait until around the same time. Currently, clean hydrogen in China is mainly used in ammonia synthesis, the petrochemical industry, and electricity generation. However, with the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles and the consolidation of cost advantages, China may become an important exporter in the future.