Letter on hydrogen: HSBC takes the plunge
Bank’s UK arm signs first deal to finance a green hydrogen developer, but cost and offtake pressures mean the sector remains too risky for many lenders
The UK arm of multinational bank HSBC has finalised its first deal to fund a green hydrogen project developer. It has agreed a “multi-million pound funding deal” to support Oxford-based project developer Hygen in the expansion of capacity at its Birmingham production site and other projects across the UK. For a lender, Hygen looks like a decent bet. It aims to scale up to 500MW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity in the UK. Crucially, it is part of HydraB, a holding company comprising transport-focused firms including Ryze, a hydrogen distributor, and Wrightbus, the UK’s leading manufacturer of hydrogen and battery-electric buses. This gives Hygen a route to market. The company says i
Also in this section
21 March 2025
European Hydrogen Bank auction is four times oversubscribed, while industry remains on pause in US amid IRA subsidy uncertainty
21 March 2025
The country is engaging with potential investors from North America and China as it refines its auction process to reflect shifting dynamics in green hydrogen, Hydrom’s managing director tells Hydrogen Economist
13 March 2025
Government awards €1.21b of funding to seven large-scale projects as it chases capacity target of 12GW by 2030
12 March 2025
Speakers at this year’s CERAWeek conference noted the growing interest in green hydrogen, but hurdles such as cost remain to its adoption at scale
