December 18, 2025
For this new 360 Radar, we decided to dive into one of the most global energy conversations: Hydrogen. A sector that still faces a fundamental contradiction: while it is essential for industrial decarbonisation, not only as an energy carrier but also as a core feedstock in sectors such as chemicals, fertilisers, and refining, where it is a component of the final product, 96% of global hydrogen supply remains fossil-based. This hydrogen, black and grey, is primarily produced through steam methane reforming (SMR) process, generating around 9–12 kg CO₂ per kg of hydrogen. At the European level, hydrogen production generates between 70 and 100 Mt of CO₂ annually, making it one of the continent’s most polluting industrial inputs.
Even though hydrogen represents only ~2% of Europe’s total energy consumption, its unique properties make it irreplaceable for specific sectors, such as heavy industries (refining, chemicals, fertilizers, shipping, etc) where process temperatures exceed the limits of direct electrification. And its advantages don’t stop here: hydrogen can be readily converted or stored at large scale over long periods, and produced locally, strengthening Europe’s path toward greater energy sovereignty. Beyond direct fuel use, hydrogen is also a key component for the production of next generation e-fuels, and other chemicals, which will contribute to further decarbonization.
Yet several challenges remain: how can clean hydrogen production scale fast enough to decarbonize hard-to-electrify industries, while avoiding dependence on green hydrogen, still expensive and slow to deploy, and grey hydrogen, still responsible for substantial annual emissions? This is where turquoise hydrogen emerges as a strategic alternative.
Green, grey, black, or turquoise… the growing palette of hydrogen “colors” reflects the diverse pathways through which hydrogen is produced, each carrying its own carbon footprint and cost profile.
At one end of the spectrum lies black hydrogen, derived from coal gasification and associated with very high CO₂ emissions and grey hydrogen, produced from natural gas via steam methane reforming (SMR), both of which dominate today’s global supply but remain highly carbon-intensive. At the other end of the spectrum, green hydrogen can offer a clean alternative, produced via electrolysis powered by renewable electricity, which itself remains slow to deploy and not always suitable. However, its costs remain significantly higher reflecting high electricity prices.
Positioned in between, turquoise hydrogen presents a strategic alternative. It is produced via methane decomposition and splits natural gas into clean hydrogen and solid carbon black, with no CO₂ emissions at the point of production. In a few words, turquoise hydrogen has the potential to deliver meaningful decarbonisation at low cost.
The benefits of turquoise hydrogen are numerous: on one hand, natural gas remains widely available for industrials thanks to a well-developed grid; on the other hand, renewable energy (primarily wind and solar) is used to power the high-temperature or plasma processes, keeping the overall mechanism low-carbon. Against this backdrop, the outcome is inherently cleaner at the process level, as methane splitting offers a promising pathway: it produces clean hydrogen and clean solid carbon without releasing CO₂, and requires far less energy input than electrolysis.
The solid carbon generated, from carbon black to any other high-value carbon-based materials, is essential for the world’s largest commodity markets, creating a potential economic upside alongside emissions reductions.
However, the technology is still maturing. Most methane-splitting processes are only now entering demonstration or early commercial phases, carrying high R&D costs and scale-up risks. Developers continue to work on improving hydrogen purity, stabilising the quality and form of the solid carbon by-product, lowering energy requirements, and enhancing reactor durability. Additional challenges include catalyst cost and availability, and the need to move from batch to continuous industrial-scale operation.
As established, hydrogen demand is accelerating across strategic sectors such as steel, fertilizers, refining, chemicals, and heavy mobility. Yet 95% of global hydrogen remains grey and is responsible for 9–12 kg of CO₂ per kg of H₂. This creates a structural contradiction: hydrogen is essential to decarbonising hard-to-abate industries, but the vast majority of today’s supply is itself carbon-intensive or lacking economical advantage.
Green hydrogen offers a compelling alternative, but major bottlenecks persist. Producing hydrogen via electrolysis requires large volumes of renewable electricity, electrolyser supply chains remain constrained, and overall production costs are still 2–4x higher than those of grey hydrogen. As a result, deployment has been slower than expected. This leaves many industrial players unable to commit to switching away from fossil-based hydrogen at scale.
This dynamic reinforces what the World Energy Council defines as the hydrogen “chicken-and-egg” problem. Industrial users cannot adopt clean hydrogen without secure, competitively priced supply, while producers cannot finance and scale large-scale low-carbon hydrogen projects without firm demand. The result is a systemic bottleneck: both sides of the market are waiting for the other to move first, preventing the emergence of a sustainable clean hydrogen ecosystem.
Even though clean hydrogen, including turquoise hydrogen, sits at the centre of Europe’s long-term decarbonisation strategy, the signals remain mixed: strong policy direction, slow market adoption.
The EU’s REpowerEU plan sets a target of 10 Mt of domestic renewable hydrogen production and 10 Mt of imports by 2030 (cit. CEEC and EU Energy Council), supported by major regulations, such as the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), which are gradually pushing industry away from fossil-based hydrogen. By 2050, renewable hydrogen is expected to supply around 10% of Europe’s total energy demand, especially in hard-to-abate sectors.
Although policy signals are strengthening, the reality is still different. European hydrogen offtake agreements slowed in 2024, mostly in sectors already using hydrogen (refining, chemicals, shipping). Industrial demand for clean hydrogen could reach up to 5Mt by 2030 if current regulations are fully implemented, yet the pace of permitting and infrastructure development remain inconsistent across member states.
Nonetheless, investment signals are improving: Europe has committed $19 billion to hydrogen projects, ranking third globally. Small and mid-scale production facilities increasingly dominate near-term plans, reflecting a pragmatic shift toward localised deployment before larger projects emerge.
For technologies like turquoise hydrogen to scale meaningfully, Europe must close the gap between ambitious policy direction and real industrial uptake. This means creating predictable demand frameworks, stable price signals, and access to infrastructure that allows low-carbon hydrogen to compete on equal footing with grey hydrogen.
Spark Cleantech is a French startup that has developed and industrialised a proprietary plasma technology capable of delivering clean hydrogen while converting carbon emissions into high-value solid carbon black.
Its process reduces CO₂ emissions up to 85% and achieves cost-parity with fossil-based alternatives, offering an unmatched technical edge: four tonnes of methane can generate roughly one tonne of hydrogen and three tonnes of solid carbon, requiring only minor adaptations from industrial partners.
This enables a true “double decarbonisation” effect. Spark can process electricity, natural gas, or biomethane to produce on-site, low-carbon hydrogen for hard-to-abate industries, while simultaneously supplying clean, high-quality carbon black for sectors such as tires, batteries and polymers. By coupling hydrogen production with the creation of valuable carbon by-products, Spark offers a scalable pathway to reduce emissions while unlocking new economic value chains across European industry.
“Europe aims to cover at least 10% of its energy demand with clean hydrogen, but economic constraints are slowing rapid development; Spark positions itself as a pragmatic and cost-effective alternative to accelerate this transition” adds Patrick Peters, Co-Founder and CEO at Spark Cleantech.
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