Danish based hydrogen fuel company Everfuel has announced that it will close its “loss-making legacy” hydrogen refuelling stations used for cars and will focus instead on heavy transport.
Its decision, announced along with its third quarter results, follows problems with its technology that included the grounding of its hydrogen trailer fleet and the closure of some stations, and the company also blamed on the lack of hydrogen cars and the shortage of skilled personnel.
The company decried the “immature technology, project complexities, delayed third-party hydrogen sources, supply chain constraints, and cost inflation” for its decision.
It also cited the delayed roll-out of hydrogen vehicles at scale, a narrow pool of competent personnel, as well as limited access to capital in the current market environment.
In an effort to ensure the stability of its finances, Everfuel is therefore closing loss-making legacy stations.
It says it will focus instead on a network for refuelling heavy duty vehicles, and on green hydrogen production which it says is better supported by EU policies.
Everfuel, which was founded in 2019, is looking to build a European-wide hydrogen production and supply system for heavy duty vehicles, with partnerships already in place across Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Everfuel CEO Jacob Krogsgaard apologised “for the inconvenience this will create for customers and employees,” adding that “we cannot continue to subsidise public hydrogen refuelling.” The company will nevertheless “continue to honour existing firm supply contracts.”
The announcement comes a few months after Everfuel grounded its hydrogen trailer fleet supplying refuelling stations following a malfunction and leak of a valve on one of the 12 trailers. This, along with “continuous low technical uptime” for Everfuel’s existing refuelling stations “reflect still immature hydrogen technology,” according to the company’s announcement.
Several refuelling stations that better align with the AFIR legislation are already under development, such as sites in the Port of Aarhus, Taulov, and Vordingborg in Denmark; Alnabru in Norway; Trelleborg and Karlstad in Sweden; and the Frankfurt and Wuppertal bus stations in Germany.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.