Failure of new technology in real-world settings is not unheard of. But for the hydrogen car industry, it came at one of the worst times: in 2019. California has invested heavily in hydrogen refueling infrastructure, attracting global automakers and oil and gas companies to the state.
At the time, Toyota was pushing for more refueling infrastructure to support the introduction of the Toyota Mirai, one of the earliest hydrogen fuel cell light commercial vehicles to hit the market.
So Toyota partnered with both Iwatani and the oil company Shell to build more gas stations. Shell appointed Nel as a station supplier and soon after Iwatani and Chevron partnered with Nel. Representatives for Shell and Iwatani did not respond to requests for comment.
Louis Fulton, director of the Energy Futures Program at the University of California, Davis, says equipment failures in the passenger segment have led to “near system collapse” in California. In addition to the abandoned Iwatani stations, in February Shell completely closed its seven hydrogen fueling stations in California and canceled plans to build 48 stations in the state.
Chevron contracted Nel to build 16 stations, but did not comment on the status of those stations. The extent to which Nel has provided the technology for these major players has not been reported so far.
Meanwhile, Toyota, which has since deprioritized the California market for the Mirai, is facing a class-action lawsuit from many drivers who have already purchased the hydrogen-powered vehicle. The lawsuit alleges that, contrary to Toyota’s promises, hydrogen fuel for their cars has become increasingly difficult to obtain, making the Mirai “unsafe, unreliable and inoperable.” Toyota did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership, there are 55 hydrogen fueling stations in California, but many of them frequently fail. None of the hydrogen fuel stations provided by Nel are currently operational. Iwatani’s only functioning gas stations were built by Linde, a large industrial gas company.
Meanwhile, Fulton says California has turned to building infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks and buses, with the hope that the passenger market can be restarted with the help of a growing freight market.
By focusing on the heavy-duty vehicle market, California could in theory create a stronger supply of clean hydrogen that lowers costs and increases availability, says Fulton, who is also an adviser to Arches, the $1.2 billion California Hydrogen Center of conditional funding from the US Department of Energy.
