It was supposed to pave the way for the future of transportation. Instead, the government’s hydrogen initiative has become the target of growing criticism—and the figures are now causing many to raise their eyebrows.
Although the government has granted 190 million kronor in subsidies for a nationwide network of hydrogen refueling stations, only four Swedish-registered hydrogen-powered trucks are currently in commercial service. At the same time, criticism of the initiative is growing from several quarters.
The hydrogen supply chain company Hydri, together with its owners, has received government funding to build ten hydrogen refueling stations in southern Sweden. The company believes that the infrastructure must be built before the market can take off.
– Infrastructure has to come first. Not many refrigerators were sold before the power grid was in place., says Hydris's chairman of the board Michel Thomas to SVT.
Critic: ”A very expensive battery”
But the reality so far looks considerably more modest. Of the six hydrogen-powered trucks registered in Sweden, only four are in service, and when SVT visited two of the new stations, no one was refueling there. The company is nevertheless hopeful that 10,000–20,000 trucks once the market is fully established.
”The problem with hydrogen is also the production of the gas, which is extremely energy-intensive. Hydrogen in a vehicle is really just a very expensive battery—with significant energy losses at two stages. So far, it seems very questionable—and expensive.”, writes the Moderate Party member of the Riksdag Jan Ericson on X.
”I’m not surprised by this; it’s just one in a long line of examples of political waste—Northvolt, Stegra, CO2 capture, and so on. Few forms of energy are as expensive and resource-intensive as hydrogen.”, writes the X-profile Mats Yxhäll.
At the same time, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has suspended new grants for hydrogen refueling stations pending the development of other parts of the hydrogen supply chain.
The Wallenberg companies are probably the biggest recipients of subsidies in our country—likely even bigger than the subsidy parasites.
As Arne Weinz says, it's just a big scam that will never happen. This hydrogen nonsense needs to be buried.
THE GREEN SCAM and the horrible Mass Destruction Party—it’s like choosing between the PLAGUE and CHOLERA.