Big Three pillar Stellantis issued a rather shocking warning this week when it reported preliminary financial figures that estimate a $2.7 billion first half loss.
And as the auto company gets focused on the poor financials – impacted largely by tariff costs and related production losses – it’s also unveiled some strategic changes relating to R&D.
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Stellantis said it will suspend its hydrogen development program and - with it - will discontinue the hydrogen powered commercial vans that it had previously planned to begin making this year.
In explaining the decision, Jean-Philippe Imparato, Stellantis' Chief Operating Officer for Enlarged Europe, said the technology had “no prospects of mid-term economic sustainability," after describing the hydrogen market as a “niche.”
Stellantis has not been alone in efforts to commercialize the technology. Despite its ability to produce emission-free power while operating, producing hydrogen for power has traditionally been environmentally unfriendly. Secondly, lack of scale means it’s both expensive and suffers from a lack of refueling infrastructure.
And it’s this infrastructure issue that Stellantis cited as a primary reason behind its decision.
According to Fastech, there were just 54 public hydrogen stations in the United States in 2024, and another 20 privately owned hydrogen refueling stations for fleets.
And while other major auto companies – Toyota, most notably – continue to be bullish on hydrogen fuel cells, things are still hanging by a thread despite the optimism:
Last year, Toyota offered such dramatic discounts on its Mirai – an electric vehicle that runs off of a hydrogen fuel cell – that it appeared to put Toyota completely in the red once a generous promotion for free fuel was added in.
Whether things will turn around remains to be seen, but clearly Stellantis doesn’t want to wait around to find out.
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