When even Andrew Forrest can’t make the economics work, it’s time for the UK to stop pretending its hydrogen strategy is evidence led.
Fortescue’s recent decision to abandon two major hydrogen-for-energy projects after reaching Final Investment Decision (FID) serves as an important signal for policymakers around the world, particularly in the UK, which is pretending its autumn hydrogen strategy update will be evidence led. These cancellations, one located in Gladstone, Australia, and another in Arizona, USA, represent more than just isolated setbacks.
They illustrate a broader economic reality. Hydrogen as an energy source, as opposed to its use as an industrial feedstock, is increasingly failing under scrutiny. Fortescue’s projects had significant financial backing, government support, and appeared viable on paper. Yet the underlying economics simply could not withstand changing conditions.
The Arizona project was an 80 MW green hydrogen facility originally intended to establish Fortescue’s foothold in the American market. As I noted a year ago, building a green hydrogen project in an increasingly waterless desert was insane to begin with. The project’s cancellation followed…
