Hydrogen fuel cell trucks exist. They work. The problem is everything around them: production efficiency, infrastructure economics, and a competitor called 'the grid' that's already everywhere.
The previous post dealt with on-vehicle hydrogen generation: splitting water with the truck’s own alternator and feeding the hydrogen back into the engine. That’s a thermodynamic impossibility. The energy chain is a closed loop that loses at every step.
This post is about “real” hydrogen. Produced externally, at scale, using dedicated energy sources. Stored on the vehicle in high-pressure or cryogenic tanks. Consumed in a fuel cell that produces electricity to drive the wheels. No exhaust but water vapour.
This technology works. Hyundai has 165 XCIENT fuel cell trucks running commercially across Switzerland, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Austria, with another 63 in North America. The European fleet hit 20 million kilometres in January 2026. They haul food, beverages, textiles, and construction materials. They refuel in 10-20 minutes. They carry meaningful payloads over real distances.
None of them operate in the UK. That fact alone tells you something about where the problem lies.
The truck is not the problem. The problem is everything around it.
The conversion deficit
The theoretical minimum energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen is 39.4 kWh per kilogram of hydrogen. Real-world electrolysers need 50-60 kWh/kg, depending on technology and age.
That kilogram of hydrogen contains 33.33 kWh of chemical energy.
This is the fundamental ratio that defines hydrogen economics: you put in 50-60 kWh of electricity and get out 33 kWh of fuel. That’s the electrolysis step alone. Then you need to compress, transport, and store it, each step adding further losses. The total electricity input per kilogram of hydrogen delivered to a truck is closer to 60-70 kWh.
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