This year has started very badly for the prospects of hydrogen as a potential future fuel for cars.
In Germany, hydrogen company H2 Mobility announced at the start of March that it was shutting 22 fuel stations focusing mainly on cars, citing a strategic shift towards goods vehicles.
In California, meanwhile, Shell is reportedly set to shut 10 of its 11 hydrogen fuel stations, after initially announcing it would open 48.
The move will compound the woes of US Toyota Mirai owners, who have seen filling stations close across the country and hefy prices for the fuel at those that remain open.
Such were the issues that California-based owners last year sued Toyota because of the difficulty in getting hold of the hydrogen needed to run their fuel cell cars.
Elsewhere, in February, Renault's and Plug Power’s hydrogen van joint venture, Hyvia, when into liquidation, citing the “too-slow evolution of hydrogen mobility ecosystems in Europe and the very significant development costs required for H2 innovation”.
Also exiting the stage in February was controversial hydrogen lorry developer Nikola, which filed for bankruptcy in the US after running out of cash.
In China, sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars cratered. Advocates of the technology as an alternative to battery-powered cars have long pinned hopes on Chinese development but last year just 25 fuel cell cars were sold in the country, down from 469 the year before, according to data from Jato Dynamics.
In Europe last year, sales of the €73,000 Toyota Mirai – the only viable fuel cell car from a mainstream maker available to buy - seemed to have held up, at 717. But closer inspection showed that of that total, 528 were sold in France, which almost directly correlates to the 500 that Toyota said it would make available as shuttles for the Paris Olympics. Zero were sold in the UK.
Those scanning the horizon ahead can’t find much use for hydrogen. Even the promise of HGVs is looking iffy, according to government climate advisers the Climate Change Committee. “We see no role for hydrogen in heating buildings and only a very niche, if any, role in surface transport,” it said in its long-term-vision Seventh Carbon Budget.
The case for investment among automotive suppliers, who right now are focused on cost-cutting across board, is looking very poor indeed. “We see a significant slowdown in terms of investing in hydrogen technology,” Liam Butterworth, CEO of GKN Automotive owner Dowlais, told Autocar. “The industry has moved towards battery-electric vehicles and hydrogen will be unlikely.”
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