The dream of driving a vehicle on clean and ‘affordable’ hydrogen is further sputtering as Stellantis Group announced it will stop development of its light commercial hydrogen vehicles. The series production of a new range of hydrogen–powered vans, which was due to start this summer in Hordain (France) and Gliwice (Poland), has been cancelled.
The group‘s new management took this decision “in the absence of a medium–term outlook for the hydrogen market,” Stellantis said in a statement. “Due to limited availability of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, high capital requirements, and the need for stronger consumer purchasing incentives, the Company does not anticipate the adoption of hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicles before the end of the decade.”
As a result, Stellantis will no longer launch its new range of hydrogen-powered Pro One vehicles this year. Stellantis states that this decision will not affect staffing at production sites. R&D activities related to hydrogen technology will be redirected to other projects.
Mid-power hydrogen fuel cell
In mid-2024, Stellantis rolled out a second-generation mid-power hydrogen fuel cell system for its mid-size vans (e.g., Peugeot e-Expert, Citroën ë-Jumpy, Opel Vivaro), delivering a range of up to 400 km and refueling in under 4 minutes.
Their large van variants (e.g., Peugeot E-Boxer, Citroën ë-Jumper, Fiat E-Ducato, Opel Movano) offer a range of up to 500 km with approximately 5 minutes of refueling time, utilizing the same mid-power architecture.
So what does this mean for Symbio? In mid-2023, Stellantis acquired a 33.3% ownership stake in Symbio, joining Faurecia (now FORVIA) and Michelin as equal shareholders.
Symbio StackPack
Symbio provided hydrogen “StackPack” fuel cell systems for Stellantis’ planned hydrogen fuel-cell commercial vans, including Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, and Fiat models (the “Pro One” lineup).
Symbio inaugurated its SymphonHy gigafactory in Saint‑Fons, France, in late 2023. It was expected to produce up to 50,000 fuel cell systems per year by 2025, scaling to 100,000 per year by 2028. Now, all this seems to become unsettled again.
In its press release, Stellantis says, “The current state of the hydrogen segment also presents financial challenges for various stakeholders. In this context, Stellantis has initiated discussions with Symbio’s shareholders to evaluate the current market implications and to preserve the best interests of Symbio, in line with their respective obligations.”
Lack of perspective
Stellantis management’s decision is motivated by a lack of a mid-term perspective for hydrogen light commercial vehicles. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles remain expensive to build, often costing twice as much as their EV equivalents.
Meanwhile, as battery prices dropped and charging networks expanded rapidly, battery-powered EVs became the clear choice for most automakers, many saying “battery is the better solution” and “hydrogen is too expensive to make sense”.
While infrastructure is still lacking due to the high costs of hydrogen stations compared to fossil fuel stations, the price of hydrogen remains too high, particularly for ‘green hydrogen’. Additionally, compression, liquefaction, transportation, and retail add significant overhead, often doubling production costs at the pump.
Green versus grey hydrogen
Green hydrogen remains highly sensitive to electricity costs and electrolyzer efficiency, as most of it is produced by splitting water using preferably surplus renewable energy when wind and solar farms generate more power than the grid can absorb.
In that light, the Belgian Solhyd project could be a game changer if it manages to reach mass production. It was founded by KU Leuven researchers who developed technology to create solar panels that split water vapor from the air using sunlight, producing green hydrogen at ambient pressure with approximately 15% solar-to-hydrogen efficiency, at no extra energy cost.
Grey hydrogen, on the other hand, is widely used because it utilizes a mature SMR (steam methane reforming) process, which involves cracking natural gas —a relatively inexpensive process. However, because it’s based on fossil resources, it still contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
As a result, today, hydrogen prices used in road transport in Europe vary between €1.00 and €2.00 per kg for grey hydrogen and between €4.00 and €8.00 per kg, depending on electricity prices and production setup for green hydrogen.
California once forerunner
In California, for instance, at public H₂ stations, you typically pay $12–36/kg. The hydrogen fueling network, once a model for the rest of the world, used by fleets of FCEVs, such as the Toyota Mirai or Hyundai Nexo, has shrunk significantly. Once intended to have 200 stations by 2025, it now suffers from operational instability.
Seven Shell-owned stations closed permanently in 2024. Among the remaining 62 stations by the end of 2024, seven are temporarily non-operational, and nine are unavailable due to extended downtime.
As of June 2025, 50 retail hydrogen stations are operational in California. To compare, in Belgium today, there are seven operational public hydrogen refueling stations—five of which are operated by DATS 24, part of the Colruyt Group.
Long-haul freight
The price of green hydrogen is expected to become cost-competitive with diesel by 2028-2032, or later, depending on the region, application, and progress in scaling renewable hydrogen production and distribution infrastructure, according to experts.
That’s why there are still companies actively developing heavy-duty hydrogen fuel-cell trucks (Class 8 and equivalent), and continuing to invest in the technology.
Among them are Hyundai, with its XCIENT Fuel Cell launched in 2020, Daimler Truck and its joint venture Cellcentric with Volvo Trucks, Toyota, PACCAR, and Kenworth in the US, and MAN Truck & Bus, and others.
