An employee restocks eggs at an H-E-B grocery store on May 11, 2026 in Austin, Texas. The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) suggests that rising fuel prices may be beginning to weigh on wholesale margins, as ongoing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to strain global energy markets. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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From his Florida office, Jason Herring, founder and CEO of hydrogen technology company VIVIFY Technology, is closely watching the escalating crisis in the Middle East and assessing its implications for global energy markets and food systems.
"A lot of people look at rising food prices and think agriculture is the story," Herring says. "Right now, energy is the story."
As tensions in the Middle East have raised concerns about oil and fuel supplies, the resulting cost pressures have begun working their way through the global food system.
In May 2026, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Price Index was 2.9% higher than a year earlier, with the FAO citing rising energy costs linked to the conflict as a contributing factor. The index has climbed steadily between February and April, reaching its highest level in more than three years.
The economic impact is significant. Americans devoted 9.7% of their disposable income to food in 2025, while total U.S. food spending reached $2.51 trillion. With food prices projected to increase by another 3.4% in 2026, even relatively modest increases can add billions of dollars to the nation’s food bill.
The time has come to “start seriously thinking about how to increase the absorption capacity of countries, how to increase their resilience to this choke, so that we start to minimize the potential impacts,” said Maximo Torero, chief economist of the FAO.
For Herring, the events unfolding in the Middle East are exposing a vulnerability that has long existed within the food system. Modern food systems rely on energy at every stage, from fertilizer production and irrigation to processing, refrigeration, and transportation. When fuel prices spike or power supplies are disrupted, food prices often follow.
“If food systems are becoming more vulnerable to energy shocks, they need to become less dependent on centralized energy systems,” he says.
Herring believes one solution lies in on-demand hydrogen generation, a technology he says he has spent the past 14 years developing. By producing power at the point of use, he argues, food businesses could reduce their exposure to energy price volatility and grid disruptions.
VIVIFY grew out of Herring’s conviction that energy-intensive businesses need a way to operate independently of an increasingly strained grid.
“As energy markets become increasingly volatile and power systems face growing pressure, whether due to geopolitics, weather, or aging infrastructure, energy-intensive businesses need greater control over how energy is generated and delivered,” he says.
Jason Herring, founder and CEO of VIVIFY Technology wants to take the food system off-grid using hydrogen energy.
VIVIFY Technology
The company’s hydrogen-powered energy systems generate electricity where it is consumed, helping food and other energy-intensive businesses to reduce their exposure to volatile energy markets and grid failures while lowering emissions.
Researchers are increasingly exploring whether hydrogen can play a larger role in food production and processing. A recent study published in Food Control found that hydrogen could help food processors improve energy efficiency while reducing emissions.
Because hydrogen contains a high amount of energy relative to its weight, researchers suggested it could play an important role in decarbonizing food production while improving operational resilience.
VIVIFY’s approach differs from many hydrogen projects already underway in the food space. Much of the industry’s focus has been on replacing diesel in farm equipment, producing lower-carbon fertilizer, or turning agricultural waste into hydrogen fuel. Examples include the H2 Dual Power tractor in the Netherlands, AM Green’s green ammonia initiative in India, and the AGRI-WASTE2H2 project led by the University of Jyväskylä in Finland.
Rather than focusing on hydrogen as a replacement for diesel or natural gas, VIVIFY is developing systems that use hydrogen to generate electricity on-site. The idea is to move power generation closer to where it is consumed, reducing dependence on centralized grids and conventional backup power systems.
Central to that strategy is the company’s Hydrogen Oxygen Generator, or HOG. The system uses water as its primary input and is intended to provide on-site electricity for facilities seeking alternatives to grid power. VIVIFY says the platform can operate as a closed-loop system and describes it as largely emissions-free, self-supporting, and scalable.
The concept comes as interest grows in alternative power systems for businesses operating in remote locations or facing increasingly frequent power disruptions. Hydrogen-powered generators are attracting attention as a lower-emission alternative to diesel backup systems, with the global market valued at roughly $1 billion in 2025 and projected to expand significantly over the coming decade.
VIVIFY's attempt to enter that market is the Flying Pig, a containerized 1-megawatt power system intended for locations where access to reliable electricity can be difficult, costly, or both. Potential applications range from industrial facilities and cold-storage sites to disaster-response operations, remote worksites, and data centers.
According to the company, the system incorporates a 500-gallon water tank, eight Pulsar units, and two primary transformers and can be assembled in the field. VIVIFY estimates that operating costs could be substantially lower than diesel generation, projecting savings of nearly $9.8 million over five years based on diesel prices of $4 per gallon.
Herring argues that the broader objective is not simply to replace one fuel with another but to reduce dependence on centralized energy infrastructure.
"The underlying idea is simple," he says. "Rather than waiting years for new transmission lines, substations, and grid upgrades, generate electricity where it is needed."
FAO Director-General, Qu Dongyu speaks during a meeting on the impact of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz on food security at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters, in Rome on May 26, 2026. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP via Getty Images)
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Hydrogen has emerged as one of the most closely watched technologies in the energy transition, though whether it ultimately proves to be a major solution remains to be seen.
Advocates see it as a pathway to decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors, while critics question whether the technology can overcome persistent challenges related to cost, efficiency, and infrastructure.
Like many emerging energy technologies, VIVIFY’s success will ultimately depend on whether it can translate promising engineering into commercially proven infrastructure through large-scale deployments, independent validation, and real-world operating data.
Yet regardless of the outcome, the problem Herring is attempting to address has already arrived.
Modern food systems depend on energy at every stage, from fertilizer production and irrigation to processing, refrigeration, and transportation. The U.S. food system accounts for roughly 12% of national energy consumption, while the industrial food system consumes an estimated 15% of the world's fossil fuels. That dependence leaves food prices highly vulnerable to energy shocks.
“For decades, food security has been discussed in terms of land, water, weather, and trade, but the events of 2026 suggest energy deserves equal attention," Herring says.
In his view, the conversation extends beyond hydrogen itself.
“For us, hydrogen is simply the enabling technology,” Herring says. "The bigger question is whether energy can be made local enough, reliable enough, and affordable enough to stop becoming a luxury ingredient inside of the food we eat.”
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