Commercialisation and How the Industry Approaches It
Almost every month, new hydrogen projects and investment initiatives are announced, while companies traditionally focused on fossil fuels are pivoting to hydrogen solutions. At the European Hydrogen Infrastructure Summit 2026, industry leaders will present the first wave of large-scale projects connecting production facilities, storage infrastructure and end-use applications. What technology groups have achieved so far goes beyond research and demonstration, with systems now optimised towards integrated value chains.
Major energy companies and manufacturing industries are moving in this direction, testing the economic feasibility of hydrogen across different regions. They are asking which models of production, storage and delivery can be scaled and made investment-ready. Technology providers highlight the most significant applications of hydrogen infrastructure: fuelling heavy-duty transport fleets, integrating hydrogen into steel and chemical production, and enabling long-duration energy storage to stabilise grids dominated by renewable power. While these examples may appear incremental, experts at the European Hydrogen Infrastructure Summit 2026 will demonstrate how hydrogen infrastructure is already shaping new business opportunities, reducing emissions and creating competitive advantage. The first pioneers are advancing offtake agreements, piloting hydrogen refuelling stations, developing compression and liquefaction systems, and working with policymakers to turn proof-of-concept projects into commercially bankable assets.
Hydrogen Transforms Industrial Development
Hydrogen also has the potential to reshape industrial development. Engineers and project teams are now supported by pilot-scale hydrogen systems that replicate performance under real conditions. For several years, companies have investigated renewable hydrogen production and carbon capture integration. The next step is to apply these technologies to full-scale infrastructure development with business models that attract long-term investment.
Alongside the opportunities, the industry must overcome a critical challenge: hydrogen must move beyond small-scale pilots and achieve commercial viability at scale. A key question is whether hydrogen infrastructure can develop into the backbone of the global energy economy. Experts are convinced that many parts of the industrial supply chain can be supported by hydrogen adoption. The challenges are less about technical feasibility and more about commercial readiness, from financing to regulatory frameworks and consistent offtake demands.
As transformative as hydrogen may be, daily, the industry operations still rely heavily on infrastructure readiness. Many optimisation tasks relate to how hydrogen is stored, delivered and integrated into existing grids and industrial networks. It is therefore unsurprising that storage, pipeline safety and end-user integration remain among the most prominent topics in the hydrogen field today.
