Westport targets China hydrogen growth as Western markets cool
Source：h2 view
Westport Fuel Systems plans to open a hydrogen innovation and manufacturing centre in late 2025 in China, as government-backed deployment there contrasts with a “pause” in North America and Europe.
In its Q2 2025 earnings call, Westport reported that over 50% of its high-pressure controls and systems revenue now comes from China, almost entirely from hydrogen components.
Westport’s High-Pressure Controls & Systems (HPCS) revenue fell from $3.6m in Q2 2024 to $2.9m in Q2 2025, a drop the company linked to a global hydrogen market slowdown. The segment supplies hydrogen valves, regulators, and other high-pressure components.
“We see the hydrogen development continuing in China at a fast pace,” said Daniel Sceli, CEO of Westport. “We’ve seen it slow down everywhere else.”
China is already the world’s most advanced fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) market, with over 390 hydrogen refuelling stations in operation and a strong policy backing for heavy-duty hydrogen mobility.
According to GWGI, the market could reach up to 6.2 million annual FCEV sales by 2050, with trucks driving more than 80% of that demand. However, while this trajectory is underpinned by large-scale investment, it’s challenged by an infrastructure shortfall.
For Cespira, Westport and Volvo’s joint venture focused on heavy-duty ICE trucks, the long-term trend reinforces China’s importance.
Its high-pressure direct injection (HPDI) platform is fuel agnostic, capable of running on hydrogen, CNG, LNG, and RNG, positioning the JV to serve China’s growing hydrogen truck segment while continuing near-term LNG and CNG sales in other markets.
Hydrogen HPDI remains a mid-term play, with trials set for 2026 and a commercial launch targeted for 2030.
Most of the capital for Westport’s new hydrogen innovation centre in China has already been spent, with remaining outlays included in the $15m Q3 cash outflow that also covers Cespira funding and the relocation of European HPCS manufacturing from Italy to Canada and China.
However, Sceli’s comments made clear that near-term growth for the JV is being driven by LNG in Europe, where over 9,000 HPDI trucks are on the road, and by emerging CNG opportunities in North America.
“In North America, CNG remains a dominant choice for fleets seeking lower operating costs and reduced emissions,” the CEO explained
“[We’re] actively looking to expand presence in these regions, and we continue to drive innovation through the testing of a CNG HPDI solution.”
Overall, the JV has generated $12m in revenue so far this year, up from $4.1m in 2024.