(Bloomberg) -- So many companies betting on a hydrogen-powered future have started selling electrolyzers — machines that strip the fuel from water — that potential supply now far exceeds demand, according to the BloombergNEF analysis firm.

Electrolyzer factories, many of them just recently built, can produce 31.7 gigawatts of the devices per year, according to a BNEF report Tuesday. That’s 7.4 times the firm’s 2024 forecast for global electrolyzer sales. 

And more factories are under construction in China, Europe and the US, adding to the oversupply. More than 100 companies — including Bloom Energy Corp., Longi Green Energy Technology Co. and Plug Power Inc. — now sell electrolyzers. The report warns a shakeout is likely on the way.

“Not all manufacturers will survive,” the report says.

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Many investors see hydrogen as a fuel for a low-carbon future, because it can be made and burned without releasing greenhouse gases. But demand has been slow to rise, because using hydrogen rather than fossil fuels typically requires installing different equipment.

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