Equinor's headquarters in Fornebu near Oslo
Absent demand dents Norway’s blue ambitions
Equinor and Shell put Norwegian export pipeline and blue hydrogen production plans on hold as demand fails to materialise
Norway’s ambitions to become a key supplier of low-carbon hydrogen to Europe have suffered a setback, with plans to develop a pipeline to Germany put on hold because of a lack of demand. Norwegian state-owned energy firm Equinor and oil major Shell have both withdrawn from a project—led by Norwegian state-owned gas network operator Gassco—to study the viability of a pipeline to take blue hydrogen produced in Norway to Germany. Both firms have blamed a lack of demand for their withdrawals, which have also triggered the cancellation of upstream blue hydrogen production projects in Norway. “We do not see enough market pull for Blue H2” Shell “We can confirm that we, at this time, do not
Also in this section
2 December 2025
Oil major cites deteriorating demand and a planning debacle as it abandons one of UK’s largest blue hydrogen projects
1 December 2025
Project at Emden in northwest Germany due online in 2027, but wider ramp-up of clean hydrogen sector in Germany will require overhaul of government policy, company warns
25 November 2025
The northwest African country’s vision of integrating green power, molecules and steel is alive and kicking, and serves as a reminder of hydrogen’s transformative potential
19 November 2025
The creation of ‘lead markets’ to generate hydrogen demand in the EU has potential, but implementation would pose complex challenges for producers and industrial offtakers
