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Title: Stellantis Abandons Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development

Link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/07/16/2112...

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: For some years now,
detractors of battery electric vehicles have held up hydrogen as a clean fuel
panacea. That sometimes refers to hydrogen combustion engines, but more
often, it's hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, or FCEVs. Both promise
motoring with only water emitted from the vehicles' exhausts. It's just that
hydrogen actually kinda sucks as a fuel, and automaker Stellantis announced
today that it is ending the development of its light-, medium- and heavy-duty
FCEVs, which were meant to go into production later this year. Hydrogen's
main selling point is that it's faster to fill a tank with the stuff than it
is to recharge a lithium-ion battery. So it's a seductive alternative that
suggests a driver can keep all the convenience of their gasoline engine with
none of the climate change-causing side effects. But in reality, that's
pretty far from true. [...] Between the high development costs and the fact
that FCEVs only sell with strong incentives, the decision was made to cancel
the production of hydrogen vans in France and Poland. Stellantis says there
will be no job losses at its factories and that R&D staff will be put to
work on other projects. "In a context where the Company is mobilizing to
respond to demanding CO2 regulations in Europe, Stellantis has decided to
discontinue its hydrogen fuel cell technology development program," said Jean-
Philippe Imparato, chief operating officer for Enlarged Europe. "The hydrogen
market remains a niche segment, with no prospects of mid-term economic
sustainability. We must make clear and responsible choices to ensure our
competitiveness and meet the expectations of our customers with our electric
and hybrid passenger and light commercial vehicles offensive."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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