The Asia-Pacific region has built up one of the world's largest hydrogen project pipelines. Yet according to a new report by the Energy Industries Council (EIC), only a fraction of these projects are making the leap from planning to implementation. Contract awards halved in 2025.
The "Asia Pacific Hydrogen Report 2026" by the Energy Industries Council (EIC), an industry association for the global energy supply chain, covers 221 hydrogen projects in the region. Together, they represent a potential investment volume of around 407 billion US dollars. However, of the 56.35 GW pipeline for green hydrogen, only 6.46 GW are under construction. The number of contract awards dropped from 54 in 2024 to 27 in 2025.
Missing offtake agreements and infrastructure gaps are slowing projectsAccording to the report, many large export and hub projects are already failing at the feasibility stage. The EIC cites missing offtake guarantees, infrastructure gaps, slow permitting processes and supply chain bottlenecks as the main reasons. "Like other regions, Asia Pacific doesn't have a problem with developing hydrogen projects on paper, but rather with building them. The projects moving forward are the ones with credible buyers, realistic economics, infrastructure in place and, most importantly, a clear policy direction," says Rebecca Groundwater, Global Head of External Affairs at the EIC.
Australia the largest market on paper, India ahead in implementationAustralia, with 63 projects and an estimated investment volume of around 240 billion US dollars, is the largest market in the region on paper. India follows with 60 projects and around 105 billion US dollars. While several large Australian projects have been delayed, scaled back or cancelled, India is showing stronger implementation momentum according to the report. There, large production hubs are under construction, and politically supported ammonia demand is helping developers secure offtakers early on.
According to the report, Japan and South Korea are positioning themselves more as demand and import markets than as locations for large-scale production. Emerging markets such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are still at an early stage and are more affected by political, infrastructural and cost-related barriers.
Global trend: only 3.4 percent of project volume approaching investment decisionThe findings reflect a global trend. According to EIC data from the fourth quarter of 2025, the global hydrogen pipeline comprises 1,175 projects with an estimated total value of 1.423 trillion US dollars. However, only 109 projects worth around 49 billion US dollars were approaching a final investment decision (FID). This corresponds to 9.28 percent of projects and just 3.44 percent of the total project volume.
