As of: February 12, 2024, 11:46 a.m
By: Andreas Jäger
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Anyone who wants to fill their car with hydrogen in California will no longer be able to do so at Shell in the future.
The group is closing the relevant gas stations.
© IMAGO/Frank Hoermann / SVEN SIMON
The energy company Shell wants to permanently stop operating all of its hydrogen filling stations in California - although the American company has always been convinced of hydrogen mobility.
Sacramento – The energy giant Shell describes hydrogen-powered cars on its homepage as a “power package” – significantly more environmentally friendly than a combustion engine, quiet as an electric model and still with a decent range of up to 750 kilometers.
But this enthusiasm seems to have now disappeared at Shell - because the company has decided to permanently close all seven hydrogen filling stations in the US state of California.
At least for cars, because the focus of the company's hydrogen strategy in the future will be on heavy-duty transport.
Around a hundred times as many electric cars as hydrogen cars are registered
A Shell spokesman
told the American website
Hydrogen Insight that “supply problems and other external market factors” were the reasons for the company’s decision.
Another reason could also be the lack of demand in the area of hydrogen mobility - around a hundred times as many electric cars as hydrogen cars were registered in California in 2023.
This could be due to the high cost of the vehicles.
The hydrogen mobility business is not worth it: this was the conclusion reached by the company Everfuel, until then the only operator of hydrogen filling stations in Denmark, a few months ago.
The Danish start -up told Spiegel
at
the time that an “immature market” spoke against relying on hydrogen cars.
Shell is currently involved in all over 90 hydrogen filling stations in Germany.
There are currently no signs of a decision similar to that in California in this country.