With the EU’s commitment to hydrogen stations every 200km on major roads, the industry now sees a positive sign to push forward with the development of a hydrogen mobility ecosystem. OEMs, suppliers, energy companies and organizations all see a clear path to introduce hydrogen and FCEVs in the mobility ecosystem.

Last month, the European Union reached an agreement for the deployment of Alternative Fuels Infrastructure (AFIR), setting mandatory targets to have HRS that serve both cars and trucks in all urban nodes and every 200 km along the TEN-T core. That means around 700 more stations will have to be introduced in European roads by 2030, according to Hydrogen Europe. AFIR is part of the EU’s “Fit for 55,” a package of regulatory actions that look to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. Europe had 254 hydrogen stations in 2022, 105 of which are in Germany. France is still second in Europe with 44 operating stations, followed by the UK und the Netherlands with 17 each, and Switzerland with 14 stations, reports Hydrogen Central.

An important part of the announcement is that the agreement will be reassessed in 2024 based on market conditions. Industry players will hope that the deployment will be moved to 150km, and eventually, 100km. Despite the agreement being less ambitious that the initial proposal, energy companies and organizations see it as a positive sign.

“It’s not ideal when it comes to the number of stations but we believe it’s a very good positive signal to all of the industry that the change is here, that hydrogen mobility is one of the chosen solutions to fully decarbonize road transportation,” says Darko Levicar, Director of Transport Policy at Hydrogen Europe.