Few stations and $200 to fill up: Life on California's 'Hydrogen Highway'

Other carmakers are also hedging their bets with hydrogen. Hyundai sells the Nexo SUV, which debuted in the U.S. in late 2018 and now boasts up to 380 miles of range. But the carmaker moved only a few hundred of them in California last year. Hyundai declined to make an executive available to discuss its hydrogen strategy.

Toyota, which has placed a major bet on hybrid cars, also remains committed to hydrogen. Since introducing the Mirai in 2015, the carmaker has sold more than 14,000 of them in California; the most recent models get up to 400 miles per tank.

“We not only see fuel cells as great for the light vehicle, but we also see it as an option for heavy-duty vehicles and we also see it as a great option for electrical generation,” says Tim Bliss, general manager of Toyota vehicle marketing in North America.

Honda, too, says its fuel cell car is about creating demand for hydrogen, as a source of backup power and for difficult-to-electrify transportation such as trains, planes and heavy-duty trucks. “For us it’s a long-term play to not just grow light vehicles, but to grow the overall hydrogen economy, and light vehicles are an essential part of that,” says Jay Joseph, vice president for sustainability and business development at American Honda Motor Co.

But deep discounts on fuel cell cars tell a different demand story. In March, Toyota offered up to $40,000 cash back on a new $49,500 2023 Mirai Limited, a lower-range model, plus 0% financing. (Bliss says this inventory adjustment applied to a small number of cars.) Over at a Hyundai dealership, you could pick up a new $63,585 Nexo for $28,585 and pay no interest. At one San Francisco Toyota dealership, a used 2020 Mirai could be had for about $12,000.

California has no plans to walk away from hydrogen. The state is still spending tens of millions of dollars a year on infrastructure and hydrogen production, which can also be used to electrify heavy-duty trucks. Because a fuel cell powertrain weighs less than a battery, hydrogen-powered trucks can drive longer distances with greater loads. Trucks also disproportionately contribute to the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and adverse health effects, particularly on low-income communities of color.

“A big priority for us right now with regard to hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles is to improve the reliability and performance of the existing refueling network, so that those who purchased or leased hydrogen vehicles can be confident they will be able to refuel when needed,” says Hannon Rasool, director of the California Energy Commission’s fuels and transportation division.

The state is also trying to green the hydrogen itself. Most of the hydrogen dispensed in California is gray, meaning it’s produced from natural gas, according to a state report released in December. Rasool says California has awarded $22 million for green hydrogen projects, including three plants that will tap renewable electricity to power electrolyzers, which produce hydrogen from water. The Biden administration also awarded the state $1.2 billion to create its own hydrogen hub, which Rasool says will boost supplies of green hydrogen over the next eight years.

Whether that means fuel cell rides can ever catch up with battery-electrics in the race to decarbonize cars remains to be seen. But some superfans are watching closely. If fuel prices do drop, Imahara plans to jump back on the hydrogen highway. She likes that hydrogen is produced in the U.S. and that fuel cell cars don’t rely on metals controlled by other countries. “The future needs to be hydrogen and not completely battery,” she says.