Total has ambitions to become a major player in the fledgling global hydrogen market, but the French oil and gas giant's chief executive warned that increased demand will be crucial for stimulating production at scale and for keeping a lid on costs.

Patrick Pouyanne told the IP Week conference — being held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic — that Total is keen on pursuing both blue hydrogen produced from natural gas with carbon capture and storage technologies and green hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources.