The low-carbon hydrogen sector is shedding its boom-year rhetoric. After the speculative buildup of 2022–2024 and a sobering retraction of government support in 2025, the industry is settling into what analysts at C&EN describe as a pragmatic rhythm of project-based progress rather than projected demand. The distinction matters: hydrogen developers spent several years chasing customers who hadn’t yet committed to buy. That era appears to be over. The Middle East reset.