The hydrogen car, long seen as a revolutionary promise for the automotive industry, is struggling to convince. However, the concept has many advantages: you can refuel about as fast as a heat engine car, and you don’t need to carry around a huge battery to get a decent range.

However, the only real problem that remains (despite the fact that the technology is also expensive and sometimes resembles a hellish gas factory…), this is the absence of a hydrogen network. And the latest news in the industry is hardly reassuring.

Does hydrogen remain a “niche” energy?

Indeed, by the end of 2023, Everfuel, the Danish hydrogen station operator, was to have a total of 19 recharging stations. Unfortunately, instead of progressing, the project is moving backwards. These 19 stations not only will not see the light of day, but also three existing hydrogen filling stations are closing.

For what ? Simply because Everfuel no longer wants to invest. Only for the first half of this year the company would have lost €11 million in its hydrogen distribution operations. This decision is not illogical, considering that only 136 hydrogen cars are currently circulating in Denmark, which is far from providing a reliable basis for a profitable network of hydrogen stations.

However, Everfuel believes that hydrogen remains a viable alternative to electric vehicles, especially at a time when the energy required to power the fleet of plug-in electric vehicles continues to grow, creating potential supply challenges.

Everything for electricity

The concept of hydrogen as a clean fuel is obviously attractive, but governments don’t seem ready to fully support the technology, and automakers aren’t necessarily on the same page either. To date, the supply of hydrogen cars remains limited, mainly limited to the Hyundai Nexo and Toyota Mirai. A pilot project with the BMW iX5 Hydrogen is currently underway, but the long-term outlook remains unclear.

Everfuel, despite abandoning hydrogen stations, says it will continue to produce hydrogen, but will now focus on other applications. In this connection, the question arises whether if the hydrogen car can still find its place in the future of mobility, or if he remains limited to a niche role. As the automotive industry rushes toward electrification, the road to hydrogen seems fraught with insurmountable financial and logistical pitfalls.

Read also:
• Fiat beats Peugeot in Stellantis
• What is the future of Opel in the Stellantis group?
• Peugeot 208: how many kilometers to sell it?