Last week, French automaker Renault releaseda sneak previewof a hydrogen-powered car.
We dont know that much about the car yet.
Any car can look good with a few sexy neon lights and a dark backdrop.
In 2019,the company announced plansto add hydrogen to two of its light electric commercial vehicles.
The only emission is water.
But Renault is doing something different.
The Renault Kangoo ZE Hydrogen and Renault Master Z.E.
Hydrogen use hydrogen for extended range, not as the sole source of battery power.
Can hydrogen fuel cells catch up to EV innovation?
The company predicts that its fuel cells will reach cost parity with electric vehicle batteries by 2030.
Geez, thats a lot of catching up to do.
One of the biggest barriers to commercializing hydrogen has been the lack of sustainablegreen steelandgreen hydrogen.
Further, we dont know if Renaults concept car is an all-hydrogen or extended range.
But, we wont see a Renault hydrogen-powered car without adequate infrastructure.
For reference, all of France has less than 20 public charging stations in operation.
By comparison, there are over30,000 EV charging stationsacross the country.
It makes the idea of extended range seem rather irrelevant.
And whats more, you cant refuel a hydrogen car at home at night.
But France is investing big
Fortunately, Renault is putting even more effort behind its hydrogen-powered ambitions.
In 2021, the companyannounceda partnership withPlug Poweron an enterprise calledHYVIA.
It focuses on vehicle R&D and refueling stations.
Plug Power has deployed over 40,000 fuel cell systems and designed and built 110 refueling stations.
The vehicles will be available in 2022 with green hydrogen production and distribution solutions.
Its a great start.
And, for broader context, France has been betting big on hydrogen since launchinga national planin June 2018.
It aims to have 400 to 1,000 hydrogen stations by 2028.
Okay, the numbers look woeful compared to EV chargers, but still.
Since their 2015 founding, theyve already transported over a million passengers in France.
Can good intentions translate to commercial success?
So, when we talk abouthydrogen, were never short of plans or good intentions.
Its putting these into practice that is taking a long time and a lot of money.
I want them to catch up.
Its the waiting that I hate.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
