Investing in hydrogen stocks has become an exciting and alluring idea because of the huge growth potential of the hydrogen market. Emissions-free green hydrogen is still in its infancy as a commercially viable fuel source, but there are a number of forces now accelerating its development.
The UK, Europe, and the US have made renewable energy part of their ‘build-back-better’ plans for post-Covid economic recovery. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led many countries to rethink their future energy security. And, more broadly, hydrogen is seen as a key element in the global drive to reduce emissions from energy consumption and achieve net zero by 2050.
While it’s still early days, some analysts estimate the hydrogen economy could be worth more than $10 trillion by that time.
What are hydrogen stocks?
Hydrogen stocks are companies in the renewable energy industry that are primarily focused on the development, manufacture, or sale of hydrogen fuel technology, equipment, or services.
Given the potential size of the market, it’s not surprising to see oil giants, like BP, major utilities, like SSE, and chemical companies, like Johnson Matthey, in the early stages of incorporating hydrogen energy into their business plans.
However, there are a number of firms focused exclusively, or almost exclusively, on the hydrogen economy. Some have been established for many years.
Top hydrogen shares in the UK
Here are some of the UK’s biggest pure-play hydrogen stocks as of January 2026:
| Hydrogen Company | Market Cap | Description |
| Ceres Power Holdings (LSE:CWR) | £576.3m | Developer of solid oxide fuel cell technology. |
| ITM Power (LSE:ITM) | £411.2m | Developer of proton exchange membrane electrolysers. |
| AFC Energy (LSE:AFC) | £142.8m | Developer of alkaline fuel cell systems. |
| Clean Power Hydrogen (LSE:CPH2) | £30.1m | Developer of membrane-free electrolyser technology. |
Ceres Power Holdings
Also founded in 2001, Ceres Power joined the stock market a few months after ITM in 2004. It used to be in the UK’s £1bn+ hydrogen stock category along with ITM Power. However, as investor excitement about the sector has calmed down, its market cap has returned to more sustainable levels.
However, following a series of new UK government-signed commercial contracts for green hydrogen projects, the company is now benefiting from a substantial tailwind that enabled its 2024 revenues to vastly exceed expectations.
Sadly, in 2025, this momentum was offset by the loss of licensing revenue, resulting in underperformance in its Engineering Services segment. While the group is making progress across other revenue streams, it remains a volatile business.
The company has developed solid oxide fuel cell technology for hydrogen production. Its strategy is to license its technology to global original equipment manufacturers and generate royalties as those manufacturers achieve full-scale commercialisation. Its partners include China’s Weichai Power and Germany’s Bosch. The former owns 20% of Ceres’s shares and the latter 18%.
ITM Power
Founded in 2001, ITM Power became the first hydrogen company on the London Stock Exchange when it listed in 2004.
It has developed and manufactures proton exchange membrane electrolysers, which create green hydrogen using only renewable electricity and water.
It has a partnership with Linde, the world’s largest industrial gas company, which also owns 16% of ITM’s shares. Other partners include oil giant Shell and leading European natural gas transport and storage operator Snam.
After a shaky few years of operational delays and disruption, the business has successfully begun fulfilling customer orders. And subsequently, revenue has expanded drastically since 2023, rising from £5.3m to £26m, with analysts forecasting sales to reach £48m by April 2026.
AFC Energy
Founded in 2006 and listed on the stock market in 2007, AFC Energy is one of a number of UK hydrogen stocks currently capitalised in the £100m-£150m bracket.
The company has developed alkaline fuel cell systems that use hydrogen to produce clean energy. It has inked a number of strategic collaborations, including with Swedish/Swiss technology multinational ABB, a leading provider of electric vehicle charge points and electrification and digitalisation technologies.
Clean Power Hydrogen
As mentioned, ITM is one of London’s largest and first-listed hydrogen stocks, and a leader in proton exchange membrane electrolysers. By contrast, Clean Power Hydrogen is aiming to ramp-up commercialisation of competing membrane-free electrolyser technology. It says this technology, in combination with cryogenic gas separation, delivers very high-purity hydrogen and medical-grade oxygen.
However, unlike ITM Power, Clean Power Hydrogen is still in its infancy, with no revenue generated in 2025. Unlike ITM Power, this business is still effectively in development and has yet to prove its commercial viability.
Yet that may change in 2026. Following the group’s latest milestones in late 2025, some analysts are now projecting that revenue could reach £5m by the end of the year.
Investing in US hydrogen shares
Despite a fair range of hydrogen stocks on the UK market, there are some larger enterprises in this sector on foreign exchanges. Here are the leading US players in order of market capitalisation as of January 2026:
- Bloom Energy – $31.56bn market cap.
- Plug Power – $3.27bn market cap.
- Ballard Power Systems – $814.37m market cap.
- FuelCell Energy – $357.6m market cap.
Are hydrogen stocks right for you?
There’s little doubt the hydrogen economy will increase to many multiples of its current size in the coming decades. With such a strong structural backdrop for growth, investing in hydrogen shares could be highly rewarding.
Having said that, stocks in the sector also come with higher risk. The businesses are at an earlier stage of development than some in other areas of the renewable energy market. All five UK hydrogen companies and four US names featured are currently loss-making businesses. In addition, they’re not forecast to generate positive cash flows any time soon, far less pay dividends. As such, these won’t be the right stocks if your primary focus is on income.
As the hydrogen market grows, and rival technologies are put to the test when the full competitive dynamics of the industry emerge, there are likely to be winners and losers. If you’re prepared to accept above-average risk in exchange for potential high capital returns from the long-term winners, investing in green hydrogen stocks might be right for you.