The EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (Afir) must do more to address the lack of infrastructure for hydrogen vehicles, according to the industry group the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (Acea).

Afir—a central pillar of the European Commission’s ‘Fit for 55’ climate package—aims to ensure the availability and usability of a dense, widespread network of alternative fuel infrastructure throughout the EU.

As it stands, the regulation proposal would require member states to install almost 2,000 hydrogen refuelling stations by 2030. Some 124 stations were available across ten EU countries in 2020—the last year for which complete data is available—but 17 member states did not have any at all.

The regulation should go further than this, setting an interim target for 2025 in order to ensure early adoption, according to an Acea position paper.

“It is expected that this technology will gain momentum, with a special focus on heavy-duty vehicles with longer ranges and higher payloads,” says the Acea paper.

“To facilitate the rollout of hydrogen-powered vehicles, the relevant Afir targets and related requirements should be set earlier than 2030,” it adds.

2,000 – Hydrogen refuelling stations foreseen by EU proposal

It should also ensure there is not more than 300km between publicly accessible refuelling stations for liquid hydrogen by the beginning of 2027, Acea says.

Currently, most vehicle manufacturers use compressed gaseous hydrogen. But some firms are beginning to develop liquid hydrogen infrastructure that would see the fuel stored and distributed in a liquid form rather than a gaseous one.

Industrial gases firm Air Liquide is developing the largest ever liquefaction plant dedicated to mobility markets in California. The plant will produce 30t/d of liquid hydrogen.

Growing sector

However, NGO Transport and Environment disagrees with the Acea position, saying the rollout of hydrogen infrastructure as foreseen risks underutilisation.

“Even based on the scenario of the Commission, which expects 60,000 fuel-cell electric trucks (FCETs) on the roads in 2030, this hydrogen refuelling network would be underutilised,” says a Transport and Environment position paper. “T&E has calculated that the utilisation rate would be as low as 30pc.”

Given the lack of market readiness and the uncertainties around the future size of the FCET fleet, the EU should start by targeting the deployment of refuelling stations at key hydrogen ecosystem locations instead of overbuilding a dense and expensive network across Europe, the NGO says.

The Commission’s impact assessment is expecting annual total investment costs for hydrogen refuelling infrastructure of almost €800mn ($878mn) compared with €300mn for battery-electric vehicles.

The first FCETs are already being deployed in Europe, and a wider offering by several manufacturers will follow from 2024 onwards.

---

Author: Tom Young