Hydrogen Council members met in Seoul this week, signalling a shift in tone as the sector focuses on project execution.

“The time has now come to push further,” said newly appointed Council Co-Chair and Air Liquide CEO François Jackow. “To successfully achieve our 2030 milestones, we must relentlessly focus on three things: building faster, harmonised global standards to level the playing field, and foster demand for low-carbon products.”

In a communiqué, Council member CEOs and executives acknowledged the clean hydrogen sector is entering a more selective phase. It notes “natural attrition” within the global project pipeline is an expected feature of maturation.

They view this as forming a “more focused and ultimately healthy” foundation for growth.

Echoing the Council’s September project tracking report, demand creation emerged as a central priority for the remainder of the decade.

The communiqué reiterated that up to eight million tonnes per year of clean hydrogen demand could be unlocked by 2030 in policy-backed markets like the EU, US, Japan, and South Korea.

It further highlighted the need for fast and practical policy frameworks, with all CEOs agreeing continued growth depends on “urgent and decisive government action” on standards, permitting, carbon and energy regulation, and infrastructure build-out.

The members also noted China is firmly taking the lead in industry development. With $33bn worth of investment in green hydrogen, the group “invited” the sector to “explore growth drivers and best practices” in other fast-evolving markets like Japan, South Korea, India, and the Middle East.

Several market activation initiatives are referenced as examples of industry coordination. These include the Global Hydrogen Mobility Alliance and the Low Emissions Ammonia for Fertilizer initiative, both of which involve Hydrogen Council members.

Jaehoon Chang, Vice-Chair of Hyundai Motor Group and Council Co-Chair, stressed, “With solid policy support and strong public-private collaboration, the industry will deliver real impact.”

The shift in tone is significant as the industry reconciles with slower-than-expected progress, including project delays and target rollbacks, and seeks to bolster confidence by emphasising more realistic delivery pathways and clearer demand signals.