Hydrogen decision a "major blow" to adoption in the UK

Vauxhall’s decision to cancel the launch of its hydrogen panel van has been labelled a “major blow” to the future of hydrogen as a viable fuel for UK fleets by FleetCheck.

Vauxhall’s parent company, Stellantis, has indicated that the decision to cancel the launch was the result of factors like limited availability of refuelling facilities, the high level of investment required and the lack of purchasing incentives.

FleetCheck's CEO, Peter Golding, acknowledged the validity of these reasons and the reality of the challenges facing this initiative, but maintained his disappointment with the decision.

“We talk to operators every day who would like to electrify their van fleet but are hitting issues with range, payload and charging times,” he said. 

“The promise of hydrogen is that it offers zero emissions without any of these compromises, and the Vauxhall proposition was the opportunity to try this in the form of a familiar vehicle from a major manufacturer.

“Yes, significant hurdles would’ve remained, the biggest of which was the almost complete absence of a refuelling infrastructure. However, with no van, there is no way forward.”

Golding highlighted the opportunities presented by the model, making a particular note of its potential as a use case to demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen as a fuel for UK fleets. 

He explained: “We have been arguing for some time that hydrogen has a potentially important part to play in the future of zero emissions vehicles, especially in the light commercial sector where electrification is proving difficult for many businesses.

“The Vauxhall van promised a very real opportunity for that to happen and the news their parent company Stellantis has decided to halt all production plans until at least the end of the decade is a major blow. We believed the UK launch was imminent.”

This news from Vauxhall follows a recent announcement from BMW that its own launch of a hydrogen car may not go ahead in the UK due to insufficient fuelling facilities.

Golding concluded: “In making that announcement, BMW called on the UK Government to match the EU’s ambition for a hydrogen filling station every 120 kilometres but that level of commitment hasn’t stopped Stellantis cancelling their van across the whole Europe That’s a sad fact you can’t help but feel could weight on future political thinking about hydrogen.

"While some truck and bus options remain, it feels as though in car and van terms, the hydrogen project is in decline and even effectively dormant for the foreseeable future.”