Shell’s hydrogen holdings might treble in size in the next several months, according to CEO Ben van Beurden, who claims the oil firm is “making the greatest progress on the ground” of any participant in the field.
Shell, located in the United Kingdom, is “quite near to making a few key investment choices on hydrogen in Northwest Europe,” according to Van Beurden, who was questioned by financial analysts on Thursday about the company’s plans, which include both blue and green hydrogen-fueled by renewables.
Shell’s CEO claimed the business was making “really excellent progress” with Dutch authorities on plans for a 200MW green hydrogen electrolyzer in Rotterdam, pointing out that the company had just turned on a 20MW system in China to provide fuel cell vehicles for the Winter Olympics.
“We’re definitely the ones making the greatest progress on the ground,” Van Beurden asserted.
“Our present lead position might easily treble or double in the next months or quarters.”
The supermajor has made H2 a crucial plank of its aspirations to transform into an integrated energy firm that encompasses electricity generation, storage, and trading, as well as a major ongoing role for its gas business, which posted a record $9.1 billion first-quarter profit owing to skyrocketing fossil fuel prices.
It agreed to spend $1.5 billion for renewables company Sprng Energy last month, and the company is already looking at green hydrogen potential in India.
In terms of the company’s short-term growth potential, Van Beurden did not specify whether he was referring to green or blue hydrogen.
CEO Patrick Pouyanné, Van Beurden’s TotalEnergies counterpart, indicated last week that the French supermajor was planning a strong push into green hydrogen, but that it would be outside of Europe and on a vast scale.
