While owners of hydrogen vehicles are satisfied with their performance, the lack of available fueling stations has greatly soured their experience, Kelley Blue Book reports.
In 2023, there were only 56 public hydrogen refueling stations in America–55 of those are in California, and one is in Hawaii. That number has only dropped since then, with one of California’s largest hydrogen fueling station operators, True Zero, closing down 10 locations, and Shell closing seven more this past February.
As a result, many owners of hydrogen vehicles have been left with slim options, including California State Sen. Josh Newman (D – 29th district), who drives a Toyota Mirai.
“The user experience of owning a hydrogen car is, to put it mildly, not so good,” Newman told InsideEVs. “It’s not due to the cars themselves. They’re awesome. It’s the refueling. The reality is the state of H2 refueling in California is, in a word, abysmal.”
Many Mirai owners have congregated on online forums to share their disappointing experiences with hydrogen refueling, with some pushing for Toyota to buy back their vehicles. Alongside range anxiety, the lack of fueling options has also damaged the car’s resale value.
General Motors has announced that it will soon supply the first hydrogen-powered medium-duty truck to a utility company in Georgia as part of a federally funded demonstration project. In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the project will be testing the use of hydrogen in work vehicles and the creation of a microgrid to support hydrogen refueling.
However, many hydrogen fueling stations that currently exist are already used for private companies’ fleets, as opposed to the public refueling stations needed by individuals.
