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Green hydrogen projects lag as costs and fueling access weigh
Hydrogen costs about four times more per mile than gasoline, and California’s hydrogen car registrations fell to around 14,000 in 2025 as station counts declined to 57, with only two-thirds working.
Green hydrogen research and development is once again struggling to convert promise into scaled deployment, with progress in hard-to-abate sectors such as steelmaking, shipping, and transportation moving more slowly than expected, OilPrice reports. The outlet says enthusiasm has waxed and waned over the past decade as the technology has advanced incrementally but not met prior expectations.
OilPrice points to California as an example of how commercialization has stalled, despite long-running plans to use hydrogen in transportation. After 20 years of efforts, hydrogen remains far more expensive than gasoline, with hydrogen described as costing about four times more per mile, even when accounting for higher gasoline prices linked to turmoil in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to OilPrice, citing reporting from the LA Times and data from the California Energy Commission, hydrogen car registrations in California declined for the first time in 2025 to about 14,000. Hydrogen fueling infrastructure also shrank from 65 stations in 2023 to 57 today, and only about two-thirds of those stations are functional.
OilPrice adds that uncertainty about whether fuel and filling stations will be available is dampening investment, quoting the LA Times observation that vehicle makers, fleet owners, and transit agencies are hesitant to invest in hydrogen products without confidence in long-term fueling access.
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