February 23, 2026 [Argus Media]- Norwegian state-controlled Equinor has scrapped plans to make hydrogen from natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the Netherlands, but remains committed to a project in Belgium.

Equinor told Argus it has halted the Dutch H2M Eemshaven project because of “policy uncertainty and lack of funding,” but the Belgian H2BE project “is still on.”

H2M Eemshaven was due to make around 210,000 t/yr of hydrogen using autothermal reforming technology to capture some 95pc of emissions. Equinor first announced the plans together with industrial gas firm Linde in early 2024 and later that year held an open season for potential offtakers. Last year, the European Commission granted the project €162.1mn in subsidies from the EU Innovation Fund.

The H2BE plant in Ghent, which Equinor is developing with France’s Engie, would also make 210,000 t/yr using ATR technology. The project was selected for €159mn from the EU Innovation Fund in 2024. Equinor said there are “no new updates” on the plans. It previously targeted financial close by April this year and start of operations by 2030.

Equinor has repeatedly criticised the EU’s focus on renewable hydrogen with regard to demand mandates. The bloc’s revised renewable energy directive (RED III) are for renewable fuels of non-biological origin only and do not cover CCS-based low-carbon hydrogen. This posed a “major restriction” to finding customers, Equinor said in late 2024, shortly after it abandoned plans for a hydrogen pipeline between Norway and Germany.

Regulatory uncertainty and a lack of clear demand contributed to the firm’s decision not to proceed with the €4bn-6bn pipeline project, Equinor said at the time, noting it could instead make more CCS-based hydrogen in the Netherlands.

H2M Eemshaven is the latest CCS-based hydrogen production plant in Europe to be halted, after several UK projects met the same fate in recent months.

Equinor said it “is committed to working with partners, governments, and stakeholders across Europe to advance low-carbon hydrogen solutions where policy frameworks and demand are most robust.”