More hydrogen fails: Doosan, Air Products cancel over $1 billion in fuel cell deals

Multiple reports have both South Korean firm Doosan and American company Air Products backing out of a number of nine-figure hydrogen fuel cell deals, with more than $1 billion across five contracts canceled in the past few weeks alone.

The company’s fuel cell division, Doosan Fuel Cell, cancelled two contracts Wednesday and a third Monday, though everyone involved insists there will be no financial impact on the company as the contract did not involve any advance payments or deposits and had not been reflected in any of the firm’s order backlogs or financial statements.

Among the cancellations are plans to terminate a 110 MW hydrogen fuel cell supply contract signed between Doosan and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Engineering, Kumho Technology and LS Electric, allegedly due to prolonged delays in receiving the necessary permits to proceed.

“As time passed after the contract, there were industry changes such as the emergence of the Clean Hydrogen Power Generation Obligation System (CHPS) bidding market, which influenced this decision,” A Doosan official reportedly said. The company extended the disclosure deferral period until the end of March after the project had not progressed since 2022.

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The cancelations follow a joint statement by French and German economists calling for European governments to prioritize electric vehicle infrastructure over hydrogen, and a number of increasingly outspoken industry executives speaking out against its practicality.

Other Korean companies, meanwhile, are continuing to invest in both hydrogen semi trucks and fueling stations for both commercial and military applications. It remains to be seen if Korea’s investment will ever pay off.

Closer to home …

Doosan isn’t alone. Another $500 million “green” hydrogen project is being canceled in New York. Air Products had intended to build a facility in Massena, New York, to produce green hydrogen using hydroelectricity. The company not only canceled that project in February, but also pulled out of a second such project in California.

No word yet on the fate of other high-profile HFC projects like Nikola-owned HYLA or Hyvia – but, like, it doesn’t look good for any hydrogen business right now.

SOURCES: E&E NEWS, H2 View, and Hydrogen Insight.