Hydrogen: it's coming, but not everywhere
Fuel-cell vehicles are scarce. So were electric cars a decade ago. In the meantime,charging infrastructure for battery-electric vehicles has grown tremendously. Will the same be true for hydrogen filling stations?
H2Stations.org (powered by Ludwig-Bölkow Systemtechnik GmbH) has developed an interactive map showing where in the world you can find hydrogen stations for public use. A green flag indicates an operational station, a yellow flag a station that will open soon.
Germany and Denmark lead the way
If you look at the current concentration of H2 stations, it's mostly the Western part of Germany that looks green, plus the area around Frankfurt, Stuttgart and München. That is no concidence: Hyundai, Daimler and BMW are headquartered in these cities.
If you switch on the yellow flags, it becomes clear that the area Cologne-Bonn-Düsseldorf-Duisburg will be served next, as well as Eastern Germany.
Except for Denmark, the Scandinavian countries seem less interested in H2. Especially Sweden is "hydrogen-free" today. The fact that Volvo has no immediate plans in developing fuel cells might have something to do with it.
The same goes for Italy and Spain, for that matter. FCA is not betting big on hydrogen, and neither is SEAT. Looking at the heart of Europe - France, Belgium, the Netherlands - there is not much hydrogen activity going on either. The UK seems to focus on London alone for now.
To gain access to the interactive map, please click here.
Picture copyright: H2Stations.org
