Two of the insurance industry’s biggest companies, insurer Zurich and broker Aon, have created a new insurance scheme for hydrogen production to boost the development of a sector viewed as vital for the transition to clean energy. The platform will bring together a number of insurers, led by Zurich, to underwrite smaller individual projects of up to $250mn in capital expenditure that would otherwise struggle to find insurance.
Businesses will be able to buy cover for a range of risks, such as third-party liability for the construction phase through to cover for outages once a facility is built. Sierra Signorelli, chief executive of commercial insurance at Zurich, said hydrogen had “immense potential” as a greener alternative to fossil fuel. Many countries are counting on hydrogen to help cut carbon emissions, hoping it can be used instead of fossil fuels in sectors from steelmaking to transport and heavy industry.