Christoph Börger and the molecular hydrogen market

A few years ago hydrogen was sold as a universal fix; now part of the same audience declares it a failure. Christoph Börger's post rejects both extremes and moves the question: not whether H2 grows, but where. He recalls that Berlin ran on town gas until 1996, with hydrogen content around 50% by volume, while noting this does not license the same share in today's natural gas grids.

The figures back the shift. The International Energy Agency, in the Global Hydrogen Review 2026, records global hydrogen demand growing almost 3% in 2025 and surpassing 100 Mt, concentrated in industry and refining, with low-emissions hydrogen demand close to 1 Mt. Global production remains dominated by unabated fossil fuels.

The market already exists; replacing it is the task. That is where the cash gap appears: final investment decisions fell below 0.8 Mtpa in 2025, against roughly 1 Mtpa in the two previous years, and the announced 2030 pipeline shrank from 37 Mt to 27 Mt. Without signed offtake, the producer funds plant and inventory before first revenue.

The first job is not the hydrogen car: it is converting a fossil molecule market that already has customers, volume and logistics. Ammonia, methanol and refining are where demand already sits.