Global Governments and Industry Leaders Reaffirm Commitment to Developing International Hydrogen and Derivatives Supply Chains

ROTTERDAM, May 21, 2025 – Ministers and senior government officials from prospective importing and exporting countries, together with global industry leaders, reaffirmed their joint commitment to accelerating the development of international hydrogen and derivatives supply chains during a high-level public-private Roundtable held on the sidelines of the World Hydrogen Summit 2025.

The latest gathering of the International Hydrogen Trade Forum (IHTF) held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, brought together high-level government representatives from nearly a dozen governments and a delegation of global industry leaders from the Hydrogen Council, led by its Co-Chair Jaehoon Chang, Vice Chair of Hyundai Motor Group. The roundtable was organized in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) coordinating IHTF’s engagement with the public and private sector.

Chaired by the Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth of the Netherlands, Sophie Hermans, the roundtable fostered strategic dialogue on the evolving geopolitical context for hydrogen and its derivatives, current economic headwinds, implementation of policy frameworks to enable global market ramp-up as well as further actions required to accelerate deployment.

While today’s macroeconomic and regulatory challenges are undeniably impacting energy transition technologies across the board, the hydrogen sector demonstrated a growth trajectory between 2020 and 2024. In that period, capital commitments grew by a factor of seven to USD 75 billion across 434 projects past Financial Investment Decision (FID) globally, compared to 10 billion across 102 projects past FID in 2020[1].

Against this backdrop and to build on this foundation, governments and industry leaders aligned on a clear set of shared priorities to continue building a transparent, fair, and sustainable global hydrogen market. Ahead of COP30, they identified three specific areas for joint action:

1. Advancing financial support mechanisms and incentives, in particular, by way of efficient and effective implementation of the existing measures[2] announced at national level.
2. Maximizing local benefits, industrial competitiveness and sustainable economic growth for both exporting and importing countries, especially as it relates to job creation in emerging markets and developing economies.  
3. Enabling the development of lead markets for sustainable products and the necessary midstream infrastructure, particularly in sectors such as low-emission fertilizers, synthetic fuels, and low-carbon steel to provide robust demand signals for global suppliers.

“As co-chairs of the International Hydrogen Trade Forum, we remain fully committed to advancing the global low-emission hydrogen sector. We believe in a realistic and balanced approach, one that channels the early enthusiasm in the hydrogen sector into tangible progress. In today’s discussion we observe both challenges and cases of success, which encourages us to continue with this endeavor. We will continue to work together with the shared goal of making renewable and low-emission hydrogen a key pillar of the global energy transition.”, said Sophie Hermans, Minister of Climate Policy and Green Growth of the Netherlands on behalf of the IHTF Co-Chairs.

“Building clean hydrogen economies needs substantial investments and long-term commitments, especially in developing countries with great renewable energy potential. This is a huge opportunity for economic growth and energy independence. UNIDO is working to increase cooperation between governments, businesses, and academia for clean hydrogen. In the turbulent geopolitical situation and with financial uncertainties for the global hydrogen industry, it is critical to join efforts for this game-changing energy source. UNIDO supports the International Hydrogen Trade Forum to create cross-border trade corridors for hydrogen and products derived from it. Our goal is to create a just transition to clean hydrogen economies that leave no one behind.”, said Gerd Müller, Director General, UNIDO.

“There’s never been a more important time for public-private collaboration on hydrogen. Today, governments and industry sent a resounding message of support to advance global, cross-border trade partnerships and supply chains,” said Jaehoon Chang, Co-Chair of the Hydrogen Council and Vice Chair of Hyundai Motor Group. “International collaboration on global standards, infrastructure development, and supportive policy frameworks including demand-side incentives, will be critical. On behalf of the Hydrogen Council, we have reaffirmed our commitment to accelerate global hydrogen deployment that benefits our economies, societies, and the planet.”

[1] Hydrogen Insights, Hydrogen Council, 2025, available at Hydrogen Insights 2024 | Hydrogen Council

[2] Closing the cost gap, Hydrogen Council, 2025, available at https://hydrogencouncil.com/en/hydrogen-closing-the-cost-gap/

Photo credit to Bas Czerwinski.