Plug Power scraps Antwerp green-hydrogen plant, citing economic doubts and lost loan guarantee

In mid-August, Plug Power confirmed the termination of its 100-MW electrolyzer venture at the Port of Antwerp, a plant that was to generate roughly 35 tonnes of green hydrogen daily using wind and solar power. The decision came after the U.S. Department of Energy pulled a $1.66 billion loan guarantee when the company failed to meet the initial drawdown deadline, leaving Plug Power with a $15.9 million loss. This cancellation joins a string of abandoned green-hydrogen projects across Europe, Canada and the United States, highlighting the sector’s struggle with high production costs, difficult storage and transport, and uncertain economic returns.

Analysts cite studies from Harvard and Nature Energy that label the approach prohibitively expensive and note that only a small fraction of announced capacity has been realized. The setback underscores growing scepticism among experts such as Robert Bryce, who describe the hydrogen economy as “hype” despite strong advocacy from the Biden-Harris administration and figures like Bill Gates. Continued public investment in failing schemes raises questions about the allocation of climate-related funds.