Hydrogen has long been touted as a great potential fuel for automobiles, given the fact that it burns much cleaner than gasoline and can be refueled far quicker than electricity in EVs. While lacking greatly in terms of infrastructure, hydrogen still seems like a good fit for the world of larger commercial vehicles, which is precisely why Ford continues to invest in that particular technology as well. However, more than one of Ford’s rivals has opted to give up on hydrogen in recent weeks, too.
The latest is General Motors, according to GM Authority, which has announced that it’s ending its next-generation fuel cell development via the HYDROTEC brand, which the automaker has used for its various hydrogen fuel cell projects thus far. “While hydrogen holds promise for specific high-demand industrial applications like backup power, mining, and heavy trucking, the path to reaching a sustainable business in fuel cells is long and uncertain,” GM said in a statement. “High costs and limited hydrogen infrastructure in the U.S. have limited consumer adoption of fuel cell-powered vehicles.”
It’s worth noting that GM still has a joint-venture with Honda – Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC – which will continue to build fuel cells, at least, for now. Regardless, GM essentially joins Stellantis as the latest automaker to end the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology, as that automaker ditched its own program back in July – citing the limited availability of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, high capital requirements, and the need for stronger consumer purchasing incentives.
Regardless, Ford continues to move forward with its own hydrogen program, and has rolled out a variety of pilot programs in more than one country to explore the potential use of that fuel in various commercial applications. The Blue Oval admits that such applications will remain a bit “niche” for now, but it believes that there is a potentially robust market for hydrogen in the long term, regardless.
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