What you need to know:
- Over 30 CEOs signed a letter from the Global Hydrogen Mobility Alliance (GHMA), urging the European Commission to prioritize hydrogen-powered transportation in EU climate strategy.
- Letter signatories include leaders at Daimler Truck, Toyota Motor Europe, Hyundai, and Mahle.
- Advocates are pushing for a pragmatic and coordinated EU policy framework. and for simplified hydrogen fueling regulations and infrastructure investment.
- In the U.S., Trump’s just-passed bill removes hydrogen credits in favor of biofuels (e.g., B99 biodiesel).
Over 30 CEOs have added their signatures and comments to a letter from the Global Hydrogen Mobility Alliance (GHMA) addressed to European Union policymakers urging them to make hydrogen-powered mobility a centerpiece of the continent's clean transportation strategies.
The executives, including Daimler Truck CEO Karin Radstrom, Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chair Jaehoon Chang, and Toyota Motor Europe President and CEO Yoshihiro Nakata, have joined GHMA's goal to "firmly position hydrogen mobility at the heart of Europe’s clean transport and industrial strategies."
[Related: Toyota's new hydrogen fuel cell system breaks cover]
In the letter, addressed to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the signatories state that hydrogen mobility is a strategic imperative for Europe and its use in road transport is vital for three critical reasons:
- A strategic imperative: Complementing battery-electric vehicles, hydrogen technologies are vital to ensuring a diversified, resilient, and cost-effective decarbonization of road transport. A combined approach could save Europe between 300-500 billion euros in infrastructure costs by 2050. Two mobility infrastructures will be cheaper for Europe than relying on just electrification.
- A vector for jobs and industrial growth: Europe’s existing industrial strengths in automotive and advanced manufacturing can be leveraged to lead in hydrogen technology, providing up to 500,000 jobs by 2030.
- It unlocks critical energy system synergies: Hydrogen enables demand aggregation, supports hard-to-abate sectors, and drastically reduces renewable energy waste.
"Hydrogen trucks are the perfect complement to battery-electric ones — offering long ranges, fast refueling, and a big opportunity for Europe," wrote Radstrom. "We lead in hydrogen tech, and we’ll stay ahead if we act now — across the full value chain."
[Related: Hyundai rolls out new Xcient fuel cell tractor]
The letter specifically requests "a more coordinated and pragmatic policy framework" for hydrogen mobility is necessary. Simplifying regulations, something the EU isn't normally accustomed to, is the logical next time towards building a wider hydrogen fueling infrastructure.
Speaking to Clean Trucking last year at IAA Transportation in Hanover, Mahle CEO Arnd Franz, another GHMA letter signatory, spoke of the importance of hydrogen combustion, often referred as blue hydrogen that's produced mainly from natural gas whereas green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis of water.
[Related: Mahle CEO: "We will fail if we don't use blue hydrogen"]
"Today, the overwhelming portion of hydrogen production worldwide is around 90 million tons. That number is going to go up to 130 million tons until 2030," Franz explained. "Currently, we have a flourishing and growing portion of that being more sustainable. By more sustainable, I mean blue and, eventually, green hydrogen. In our opinion, [blue hydrogen production is needed] to get the infrastructure going in order to get the ecosystem."
Efforts to push hydrogen in the U.S., meanwhile, have more or less stalled over the last several months for a number of reasons, among them the bankruptcy of Nikola Motors and Hyzon Motors. There's also a lack of support at the federal level.
Speaking earlier this year at the annual CPAC conference, President Trump expressed his safety concerns about hydrogen fueling, though the examples he cited were not 100% accurate.
Hyundai and Honda, meanwhile, have not abandoned hydrogen-powered semis. Hyundai's private fleet of XCIENT semis continue to run supply routes between the manufacturer's production facilities in Georgia and Alabama. Honda, for its part, unveiled its hydrogen fuel cell module alongside a Class 8 concept semi at the 2025 ACT Expo.
But without a larger hydrogen fueling infrastructure and federal support, a majority of U.S.-based fleets are far less likely to invest in hydrogen. Trump's just-passed "Big Beautiful Bill" eliminates clean vehicle, energy efficiency and hydrogen production credits.
Instead, it includes provisions related to biofuels like biodiesel, also known as B99, specifically extending tax credits and easing emissions rules for certain fuels.
