Linde LienHwa (LLH), long established as Taiwan’s leading industrial-gases supplier, is rapidly repositioning itself as a key enabler of the island’s clean-energy transition. The company is leveraging global technology and local know-how to build hydrogen value chains, support low-carbon industrial processes, and – increasingly - to explore the wider use of hydrogen in the nation’s energy transition.

With the push for decarbonisation now underway in earnest in Taiwan, albeit often held back by government red tape, and despite the same Democratic Progressive Party-led government’s broader net-zero and renewables agenda, LLH’s evolution beyond traditional gas supply reflects the shifting energy landscape.

Hydrogen at the core

LLH’s hydrogen strategy spans supply, infrastructure and end use. In a recent “Low-Carbon Economy: Hydrogen & Oxygen Solutions” presentation at the Energy Taiwan & Net-Zero Taiwan show in Taipei, the firm emphasised four interlocking pillars: building a hydrogen value chain; deploying carbon capture; supplying low-carbon fuels; and promoting oxy-fuel combustion for industry.

A key milestone to this end also came about in October 2025, when LLH unveiled what is described as Taiwan’s first hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck at the same expo in the Taiwanese capital. Given the current limitations of battery-electric vehicles, particularly for heavy loads and long journeys, hydrogen fuel-cell trucks are being touted as one day playing a critical role in decarbonising transport sectors that are poorly served by existing battery tech. LLH itself noted hydrogen’s advantages: rapid refuelling, long range and high payload capacity. Backing these claims according to the firm’s homepage were Christine Miao, Vice President of Corporate Communications at Linde LienHwa, and recognised global expert on energy efficiency - Dr. Joachim von Schéele from Linde – who spoke on the day-to-day practicalities of utilising hydrogen in the march towards net-zero.

Beyond logistics, LLH is also working with public and private partners on hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. At the July 2025 Taiwan Net Zero Mobility Forum in the southern city of Kaohsiung, hydrogen-fuel buses were offered for public test rides as part of a broader effort to deploy hydrogen mobility solutions across public transport. As part of this, LLH contributed its hydrogen-supply expertise, and is involved in building refuelling-station capacity the company states.

Given Taiwan’s heavy industrial base and energy-intensive sectors in manufacturing, heavy industry, etc, LLH’s push into hydrogen matters covers both transport needs and efforts towards decarbonising industrial energy usage.

Hydrogen combustion and industrial decarbonisation

As a company pushing the envelope in Taiwan, LLH isn’t only focused on fuel-cell applications though, as the firm is also actively promoting hydrogen-oxygen combustion and burners to help high-temperature industries such as steel, cement, glass, and metal recycling, to cut CO₂ emissions.

According to LLH, these hydrogen combustion solutions can often replace conventional natural-gas burners, sometimes without major modifications to existing equipment.

Furthermore, given that LLH is not a startup, but is rather a long-established industrial-gas supplier with decades of experience in delivering industrial gases across multiple sectors, this alone gives the firm credibility and capacity to scale hydrogen solutions more rapidly than greenfield entrants. As such, with Taiwan remaining heavily reliant on energy-intensive manufacturing, industry and heavy transport, LLH’s hydrogen combustion systems and fuel-cell mobility offerings give these sectors a pathway to lower carbon emissions - something that even officials in Taipei should recognise as crucial, particularly on the 20-25 days each year the city is blanketed by a smog caused by traffic emissions.

Challenges ahead

The road ahead in Taiwan is not free from pitfalls, however. LLH itself has pointed out the need for clearer regulation and streamlined processes - in creating a low-carbon hydrogen certification programme and to help simplify approvals for hydrogen vehicles, while supporting hydrogen-refuelling-station construction.

But with a government in place that recently pushed through a shift away from nuclear power-use to follow through on a 2016 election promise, only to then look at potential restarts several months later, the road ahead will not be easy - and may see sudden about-turns in a country more used to political parties seemingly more interested in point scoring over rival parties than coming together for the good of all.

Then there is cost. Producing green hydrogen, especially from renewables, is still often more expensive than fossil-based alternatives, and requires large capital investment, regulatory support, and stable demand to become viable at scale. This will be an issue with the more ‘traditional’ forms of renewables such as solar and wind power already well established and looking to expand around and across Taiwan.

The hydrogen lifeline for Taiwan is there though - with Linde LienHwa steadily emerging as one of the most important actors in Taiwan’s energy-transition story, by bringing together global hydrogen expertise, local industrial-gas infrastructure, and practical know-how in gases supply and industrial applications, the firm is giving Taiwan a pathway to decarbonise heavy industry, transport, and manufacturing without waiting years for green hydrogen to become ubiquitous.

In doing so, LLH is responding to market demand, but is also actively shaping the contours of Taiwan’s low-carbon economy. Whether through hydrogen-fuel trucks, oxy-hydrogen burners for industry, or any combination of the above, LLH is helping to lay the foundation for what could become a full hydrogen ecosystem in Taiwan.