Despite coming as a constant hot topic for hydrogen markets, and considerable progress having been made in 2022, with bright spots ahead in 2023 and beyond, clear speed bumps lie along the road. Many wonder which strand of the transport sector will blaze the trail first, and likewise which region.

Questions linger over policy and the implementation of hydrogen-powered transport, with the age-old infrastructure challenges remaining well established. Against this backdrop, the Snap Summit hopes to unearth the progress made, dissecting challenges to be met, and establishing the state-of-play across mobility as 2023 approaches. Kicking off at 10am GMT (11am CET, 6am ET), three immersive panel sessions, held via the interactive gasworld TV platform, will host leading figures across the hydrogen mobility sector.

Session One – Mobility across roads, rivers & skies

The first session of the day, Mobility Across Roads, Rivers & Skies, will hear from Dr. Josef Kallo, co-founder and CEO of H2FLY, who will explore the opportunities for hydrogen in aviation.

Heading up a premier hydrogen propulsion company, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, Kallo has overseen the development and testing of multiple generations of hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrains in a passenger aircraft, the HY4, there are few who top his knowledge and conviction for the emerging technology.

Keeping things in the skies, Sergy Kiselev, Vice-President Europe at ZeroAvia, will delve in deeper, in a bid to establish how those opportunities in aviation can be realised, leveraging on experience from his time at a leading innovator in the field, ZeroAvia.

Dipak Mistry, Director of Commercial Partnerships at Ceres, will then take the discussion to the seas, to discuss the ‘imperative and potential’ in maritime hydrogen.

With the company having launched its first hydrogen-powered truck this year (2022), Harsh Pershad, Head of Hydrogen at Tevva, will focus on the keys to unlocking hydrogen mobility on our roads to close out the session.

Session Two – On the road: mobility in Europe

Turning its attention to road transport in Europe, the Summit will hear about some of the challenges facing the sector, with a video from Jaco Reijerkerk, Commerical Director of Ekinetix speaking at a previous H2 View webinar.

Looking to move past those challenges, Manish Patel, Hydrogen for Mobility Director at Air Products, will hope to highlight areas for the sector to make strides in its development in the near and long term furture. Finally, Jake Martin, Hydrogen Business Development Manager at Haskel, will offer insight from refuelling infrastructure supplier, coming at a time where the European Union looks to ramp up its hydrogen refuelling station offering.

Session Three – On the road: mobility in North America

Kicking off the final session of the day, Karina Kocha, Business Intelligence Manager at H2 View’s sister company gasworld, will offer analysis of the mobility market in North America and beyond. gasworld has recently concluded a detailed report into the different strands within the hydrogen mobility market and where potential hotspots reside.

Coming as one of the original innovators in hydrogen-powered mobility, Nicolas Pocard, Vice-President of Marketing & Strategic Partnerships at Ballard Power Systems, will be stressing the need for North America to accelerate its adoption of fuel cell mobility.

In a step towards that adoption, Chetna Negi, Business Development Manager at Cummins, will also present how the company is hoping to enable heavy-duty hydrogen-powered trucking in region.

Having worked in hydrogen systems R&D and commercialisation for over a decade, Mike Peters, Business Development Manager and Lead Hydrogen Consultant at EnServ, will close the day of discussion by summarising where the dots in clean mobility could be connected, looking at key energy technologies and solution.

Hunger for hydrogen-powered transport

The Hydrogen Insights 2022 report from the Hydrogen Council and McKinsey highlighted significant progress across the entire hydrogen industry, none more so, than the mobility market.

According to the report, between 2020 and 2021, there was a 65% boost in the sales of fuel cell vehicles, seeing them sit at approximately 17,000 vehicles – up from 11,000 in 2020. It estimated that fuel cell buses accounted for around three quarters of sales, with 10% consisting of commercial vehicles, and the remaining being trucks.

The Hydrogen Council and McKinsey said passenger vehicles also saw significant growth. A dramatic 80% uplift to around 15,000 vehicles sold worldwide was witness in 2021, with 55% of sales seen in South Korea, 20% in North America, and 15% in Japan. Furthermore, the report found that between 2020 and 2021, hydrogen transport infrastructure gained capacity. It suggested that around 700 hydrogen stations were installed globally by the end of 2021, reflecting a 25% growth from 2020.

Estimating that nearly half of total stations are found in Japan, South Korea, and China, the report says the region saw a 35% annual growth, ahead of Europe and the US which experience slower growth at 20%.

Similarly, a report by Aurora Energy Research, released on November 1 (2022) found that although industrial processes are likely to claim most of Europe’s hydrogen demand in the medium term, by the mid-century, transport is set to equal industrial consumption. Aurora’s modelling found that by 2050, Europe will need to consume 1,900TWh of hydrogen to achieve Net Zero, with the industrial sector set to account for over 80% of demand until the mid-2030s. However, by 2050, the market analysis company predicts the transport sector will match that demand.

In the skies, the potential for hydrogen-powered flight has become further apparent throughout the year. In March, the Our Vision for Zero-Carbon Emission Air Travel report from FlyZero concluded that liquid hydrogen could power a mid-sized aircraft with 280 passengers from London to San Francisco directly, or from London to Auckland with just one stop. Following the report, there has seemingly been an upping of the pace from aviation players such as Airbus, easyJet, American Airlines, ZeroAvia and more, in their drive to see hydrogen power future flight.

Additionally, over the course of 2022, we have seen numerous legislative levers pulled, that seem set to lay the foundations for the hydrogen mobility sector, across wide spanning regions. Most recently, in October (2022), the European Parliament voted in favour to retain the ambition set by the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), which set the goal of having no more 100km between each hydrogen refuelling stations along TEN-T networks, which would see up to 1,780 stations established on the continent by 2027, powering up to 59,000 trucks.

Another notably policy move was in the form of the US Inflation Reduction Act, which aside from up to $3/kg of low-carbon hydrogen production tax credits, made new hydrogen fuel cell-electric vehicles eligible for $7,500 of tax credits, and used vehicles able to receive up to $4,500.

To book your ticket for H2 View’s Mobility Snap Summit, head to h2-viewevents.com. Individual tickets cost $99, however Premium Subscribers to H2 View get free access to this and all of our virtual events, as well as 10% off for all in-person events throughout their subscription.