ZESTAs launches global hydrogen alliance

The initiative comes as momentum builds behind maritime decarbonisation following recent progress at the International Maritime Organization’s MEPC 84 negotiations, where member states reaffirmed support for the IMO Net Zero Framework and a future global carbon pricing mechanism for shipping emissions.

According to ZESTAs, despite more than €175 billion in committed hydrogen investment linked to Europe and over 600 projects globally, development remains hindered by fragmented infrastructure planning, uncoordinated offtake agreements and delayed investment decisions.

“Zero-emission shipping is already underway,” said Madadh MacLaine, Alliance co-founder and secretary general of ZESTAs. “The investment is moving, the regulation is coming, and the early movers are setting the terms,”

MacLaine said the alliance would focus on building the coordination mechanisms needed to scale deployment.

“The Global Liquid Hydrogen Alliance exists because LH2 needs to be at the core of that transition, at scale, not catching up to it,” she said. “We’re here to do the coordination work that makes deployment happen – evidence, policy alignment and commercial frameworks that turn LH2 from a credible option into a bankable fuel.”

Unlike broader hydrogen initiatives, the Alliance will focus exclusively on pure green hydrogen rather than fuel derivatives or blended solutions. Its work programme will centre on creating technical evidence, aligning international policy frameworks, supporting market development and accelerating deployment through shipping corridors and port infrastructure.

Bart Biebuyck, Alliance co-founder and chief executive of Hybart, said liquid hydrogen represented one of the few scalable pathways for long-range zero-emission shipping.

“The discussion around zero-emission fuels is now shifting from ‘if’ to ‘how fast,’” he said. “Liquid hydrogen offers one of the few scalable pathways for truly zero-emission long-range shipping.”

The Alliance also highlighted LH2’s established industrial track record, with more than six decades of commercial use and existing containerised transport systems already operating under current regulations.