ONE Green Hydrogen Strategy: 30 Hyundai Trucks, $86 M Profit, and 1 Nor CAL ZERO Partnership (2025)

Green Hydrogen Commercial Projects: ONE Shifts from Maritime R&D to Onshore Pilots

In 2025, Ocean Network Express (ONE) adjusted its decarbonization strategy, moving from theoretical maritime applications of green hydrogen to tangible, commercial-scale onshore pilots. The company’s actions show a clear strategic decision to gain practical experience with hydrogen technology in a controlled, lower-risk environment before committing to capital-intensive vessel retrofits or newbuilds, a significant change from the industry’s more speculative discussions between 2021 and 2024.

• Before 2025, ONE and its peers focused on long-term vessel design and participation in industry-wide studies exploring future fuels like green ammonia and hydrogen.
• The major strategic shift in 2025 was ONE’s lead participation in the Nor CAL Zero project, announced on May 30, 2025. This project involves deploying 30 commercial Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks for drayage operations in Northern California.
• This project moves ONE‘s hydrogen involvement from research into operations, allowing the company to build expertise in hydrogen logistics, refueling protocols, and safety management within its land-based supply chain.
• By focusing on drayage, ONE targets a critical, high-emission segment of its operations that is more technologically mature and less capital-intensive to decarbonize than its deep-sea vessel fleet.
• This pragmatic approach contrasts with competitors making early-stage commitments to green ammonia production, positioning ONE as a cautious adopter focused on operational readiness rather than direct fuel supply investment.

Hydrogen Economy Roadmap Shows Shift to Commercial Trials

The chart provides the broader industry context for the section’s focus on ONE’s strategic shift. It visually confirms that moving from R&D to commercial trials is a logical and timely progression for the hydrogen economy, validating ONE’s move towards onshore pilot projects.

(Source: ScienceDirect.com)

$86 M Q 1 Profit, ONE Investment Strategy Favors Fleet Efficiency Over Direct Hydrogen Production

ONE‘s investment strategy in 2025 prioritizes capital allocation towards immediate operational efficiencies and fleet flexibility, deferring major direct investments into green hydrogen production. With a reported profit of $86 million for Q 1 FY 2025, the company is using its financial resources to future-proof its assets and reduce near-term emissions rather than making high-risk bets on a single, immature fuel pathway.

• The company’s primary capital expenditure is directed at dual-fuel vessels that can operate on conventional fuels today but are adaptable for future green fuels like ammonia or methanol, which serve as hydrogen carriers.
• Investment is also focused on proven, near-term efficiency technologies, such as installing bow windshields on vessels, which can reduce bunker consumption by 2-4%, directly impacting operational costs and emissions.
• The launch of the ONE LEAF+ service represents an investment in carbon accounting and service infrastructure, allowing customers to purchase lower-carbon shipping options, likely through biofuels or carbon insetting, while the long-term fuel strategy develops. This could align with broader market mechanisms like Carbon Capture.
• This capital strategy stands in stark contrast to upstream energy developers, where projects like the NEOM Green Hydrogen Project involve multi-billion-dollar investments to build production capacity, highlighting the different risk profiles and investment priorities across the value chain.

Green Hydrogen Cost Competitiveness Forecast for 2030

This forecast provides the economic rationale behind ONE’s investment strategy. It shows that green hydrogen is not expected to be cost-competitive in the near term, justifying the company’s decision to prioritize more immediate returns from fleet efficiency over large-scale, direct investment in hydrogen production.

(Source: AXA.com)

Table: Investment Strategy Comparison (2025)

Nor CAL ZERO Project, ONE’s Key Partnership Signals a Land-First Hydrogen Strategy

In 2025, ONE’s partnership activities are narrowly focused on its participation in the Nor CAL Zero project, a collaboration that defines its current hydrogen strategy. This project centers on decarbonizing land-based logistics with partners in the automotive and public sectors, deliberately avoiding the complexities of securing maritime green fuel supply chains at this early stage.

• The partnership with Hyundai Motor Company, the supplier of the 30 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks, provides ONE with access to proven hydrogen vehicle technology and operational support.
• The Nor CAL Zero project itself is a multi-stakeholder collaboration, allowing ONE to share the risks and costs of developing hydrogen infrastructure and operational playbooks with public and private partners.
• This land-based focus is a significant strategic choice, indicating that ONE sees port drayage as the most viable entry point for gaining hydrogen experience. It contrasts with the period from 2021-2024, which was characterized by broader, less-defined industry consortiums for maritime fuels.
• There were no announced partnerships in 2025 for ONE related to green hydrogen or ammonia offtake for its vessel fleet, reinforcing its position as a follower, not a leader, in securing future maritime fuel supplies.

Table: ONE’s Hydrogen-Related Partnerships (2025)

North America vs. Global, ONE’s Green Hydrogen Activity Concentrates in California

ONE‘s green hydrogen initiatives in 2025 are geographically concentrated in North America, specifically within the regulatory and innovation-friendly environment of California. This targeted approach allows the company to test and validate hydrogen technology in a single, well-supported market before considering a more complex global deployment.

• Prior to 2025, discussions around maritime decarbonization were global and diffuse, with activities spread across major shipping hubs in Asia, Europe, and North America.
• In 2025, ONE‘s concrete actions are focused entirely on the Nor CAL Zero project in Northern California. This region offers a combination of supportive state-level incentives, stringent emissions regulations, and a high concentration of logistics activity.
• By focusing on California, ONE can leverage an existing ecosystem of technology providers and public funding aimed at port decarbonization, reducing its own direct financial exposure.
• There is no evidence of similar ONE-led hydrogen projects being launched in Asia or Europe during 2025, suggesting a deliberate strategy of using North America as a testbed for its land-based decarbonization efforts.

Commercial Pilot Stage, ONE’s Maritime Hydrogen Strategy Remains Exploratory in 2025

For ONE, the technological maturity of green hydrogen applications is split: land-based fuel cell mobility is at a commercial pilot stage, while maritime applications remain in an early, exploratory phase. The company’s 2025 activities reflect this technological divide, with tangible investment in the mature sector and continued investigation in the nascent one.

• The use of Hyundai‘s XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks in the Nor CAL Zero project leverages a technology that is already commercialized and has a proven operational track record in other markets.
• In contrast, green hydrogen or ammonia-powered marine engines are not yet widely available at a commercial scale in 2025, and critical bunkering infrastructure is almost nonexistent, with some analyses suggesting over half of new ship tonnage on order is for alternative fuels, but the infrastructure lags.
• ONE‘s decision to invest in dual-fuel vessels, rather than pure hydrogen or ammonia ships, is a direct reflection of this technology gap. It is a strategy to “future-proof” the fleet without committing to an unavailable technology.
• While the company’s sustainability reports mention investigating hydrogen and ammonia, there were no firm orders for vessels powered by these fuels in 2025, confirming that for maritime use, the technology is not yet considered commercially mature by ONE. The use of certain fuel cell technologies like SOFC remains primarily in stationary power and data center applications.

SWOT Analysis of ONE’s Green Hydrogen Initiatives

ONE‘s 2025 green hydrogen strategy leverages its operational strengths to enter the market cautiously, but this risk-averse approach creates potential long-term vulnerabilities if the maritime energy transition accelerates faster than anticipated. The company is effectively trading leadership for certainty, a strategy that depends heavily on the pace of market development.

• Strengths: Leveraging existing logistics expertise to manage a new energy source on land.
• Weaknesses: A follower status in maritime alternative fuels, creating a risk of being dependent on competitors’ fuel infrastructure.
• Opportunities: Gaining low-cost, practical experience with hydrogen that can be applied to future maritime operations.
• Threats: New IMO regulations and rapid scaling by competitors could leave ONE behind in the race to secure green fuel supplies and low-emission vessel technology.

Major Carriers Commit to Methanol-Fueled Ships

This chart is essential for the SWOT analysis, as it illustrates a significant ‘Threat’ from the competitive landscape. It shows that major rivals are investing heavily in an alternative fuel (methanol), which directly challenges ONE’s hydrogen-focused strategy and must be considered in any strategic evaluation.

(Source: LinkedIn)

Table: SWOT Analysis for ONE Green Hydrogen Initiatives (2025)

Nor CAL Zero Project Data: Key Signals for ONE’s Future Hydrogen Strategy

The most critical strategic development to watch for ONE in the next 12-18 months will be the operational and financial performance data from the Nor CAL Zero project. The results from this real-world deployment will dictate the speed and scale of any future hydrogen-related investments by the company, both on land and potentially at sea.

• If the 30 Hyundai trucks demonstrate high reliability, predictable operational costs, and seamless integration into ONE‘s logistics, expect the company to explore expanding the program to other North American ports.
• Conversely, if the project reveals significant challenges with refueling infrastructure, vehicle uptime, or total cost of ownership, ONE is likely to pause further hydrogen expansion and maintain its focus on other efficiency measures and more mature alternative fuels like biofuels or methanol.
• Watch for any new vessel orders placed by ONE. A commitment to “ammonia-ready” or “hydrogen-ready” vessels would be the first concrete signal that the company is preparing to translate its onshore learnings to its core maritime business.
• The evolution of the ONE LEAF+ service will also be a key indicator. A shift in the fuel mix used for this premium service, from biofuels towards synthetic fuels derived from green hydrogen, would signal a significant step forward in ONE‘s decarbonization capabilities and confidence in the emerging supply chain.

The questions your competitors are already asking

This report covers one angle of Ocean Network Express’s commercial strategy for green hydrogen. The questions that matter most depend on your work.

• Which container shipping lines are gaining ground by focusing on onshore hydrogen pilots versus maritime fuel commitments?
• ONE’s activities in port drayage. Is the Nor CAL ZERO partnership progressing from a 30-truck pilot to wider deployment?
• How does green hydrogen for drayage trucks compare to green ammonia for deep-sea vessels as a decarbonization strategy for shipping lines?

This report does not answer these. Enki Brief Pro does.

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