European cars manufacturers promised them happy with the hydrogen battery. Reality has hit them

In search by Eliminate fossil fuels From cars, electrification seemed the best option. Have 100% electric, hybrids and plug -in. However, some companies They seemed not to be convinced at all with the electric ones, so they began to boost the development of cars moved by ‘pilas’ of hydrogen. Some are getting off the shipand the last one is a Stellantis that has been closely to the controversy These last years.

BMW has another opinion and defends that the hydrogen battery is a strategic alternative for Europe. Against what? Against China.

Short. In a brief releaseStellantis (which, remember, is the megacompañía that arises after the Fusion of Fiat, PSA and Chrysler) He confirmed a few weeks ago that he interrupted his hydrogen fuel cell technology development program. They affirm that “the hydrogen market remains a niche segment, without perspectives of economic sustainability in the medium term.” And this affects all the divisions they were developing:

• Cars.
• Small vans.
• Large vans.

Next steps. The company comments that the personnel who were doing R&D work related to hydrogen technology will be redirected to other projects and that now what it is to focus on what it sells: hybridization and conventional electric batteries.

“We must make clear and responsible decisions to ensure our competitiveness and meet the expectations of our customers, as well as continue with our offensive of electric vehicles and hybrids of both passengers and light commercials,” explains Jean-Philippe Imparato, Chief Operating Operating Officer for Enlarged Europe.

Issues. The main argument that underwent the hydrogen strategy, with cars on the street such as the Hyundai Initium or the Mirai de ToyotaIt was the speed of loading. If the electric took some dozens of minutes to achieve a decent autonomy, one of hydrogen was closer to the times of a gasoline/diesel. The problem is that it is not entirely true.

Toyota has been one of those who More has driven the hydrogen batteryeven competing with hydrogen -driven cars, such as GR LH2 Racing Concept or the Gr yaris rally2 h2 concept For rallies, but in everyday use, hydrogen looks like everything except practical, away from that more classic “plugging and reproducing” liquid fuel.

The reason? GR LH2 Racing himself needs a cryogenic system at the cargo station that maintains hydrogen at -253 degrees Celsius. This implies advanced isolation and advanced manipulation, which makes it very little practical out of a very specialized competitive environment. Among other thingssince the energy density of hydrogen is almost nine times lower than that of gasoline and storage is complex.

Without ‘hydrogeneras’ there is no FCEV. Returning to Stellantis, the group was not working with the hydrogen pile for the distant future, but immediately. This year they were going to launch a new range of vans, the Pro one fed by hydrogenthat evidently will not see the light. And although there are still companies that keep some hope for the hydrogen pile, the truth is that without refueling points, technology seems unsustainable.

In the United States, Toyota has faced collective demand by Mirai owners who ensure that the brand lied to ensure that reposting would be as simple as in a gasoline. There are practically no load points, with just a thousand open hydrogeneras worldwide for public use. And last year they began to close in Germany because they were not used.

BMW and his “hold me the cubata”. Trucks are another song. The numbers are there, With strong consecutive falls in 2023 and 2024 that seem to have punctured, at least for now, that fever for the hydrogen pile for conventional cars. However, the turn comes from BMW. The German company has publicly defended that hydrogen is an opportunity for Europe not to depend so much on the China’s battery industry. And others like Volvo maintain projects Hydrogen for trucks.

It has been the CEO who has insisted that Europe must bet on multiple roads and that, in a scenario in which China controls the production of Rare earth Essential to create batteries, and they are also the most manufactured batteries, Europe must have a BM plan, BMW has no car with a hydrogen battery and is working on a SUV that They will launch at some point in 2028.

We will see how the market is then.

Image | H2 Mobility

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