Heavy blow to car sales as hydrogen filling stations for cars are closed.
Everfuel, the Danish supplier of hydrogen infrastructure, has announced that it will close its 'unprofitable' old hydrogen filling stations for cars to refocus on the production of environmentally friendly 'green' hydrogen. This announcement came to light in the second quarter 2023 financial report. In it, the company emphasized that the development of green hydrogen production capacity will be prioritized, while it will reduce investments in the network of filling stations through a more selected approach to its portfolio of hydrogen stations .
Jacob Krogsgaard, founder and CEO of Everfuel, stated bluntly that the market for hydrogen mobility is expected to remain limited for some time to come. “We will restructure our station network, including discontinuing unprofitable automotive filling stations, and adapt our downstream organization to a lower level of activity,” Krogsgaard said.
“We cannot justify putting more money into just subsidizing hydrogen,” said Jacob Krogsgaard, CEO of Everfuel.
The company will continue to invest in fuel stations intended for heavy transport and large vehicles. This is in line with the EU's recently adopted Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulations (AFIR), which aims to set up at least 2030 hydrogen filling stations in EU member states by 667. Everfuel plans to align its strategy with these new regulations, with a focus on high-capacity, modular-scale locations already under development or managed by the company. These include locations in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany.
DRIVR
Although the company apologized for the inconvenience this would cause to customers and employees, Krogsgaard stated that it is no longer possible to subsidize public hydrogen filling stations. However, the company indicated that current supply contracts will be honored. One of the customers is the taxi company DRIVR. In 2017, the country's largest taxi business family and an app development company came together with the common goal of creating a “green child” and saw DRIVR the light of day for the first time.
The choice of hydrogen reflects DRIVR's ambition to be at the forefront not only with electric vehicles, but also with other sustainable technologies. In collaboration with Everfuel, hydrogen filling stations in Copenhagen are being made accessible to DRIVR's taxi fleet, contributing not only to the company's operational efficiency but also to the overall goal of making the taxi industry more sustainable.
In Heinenoord, near Rotterdam, Everfuel has set up a hydrogen filling station for more than 20 fuel cell buses. This fits in with the ambitious plan of the Province of South Holland to achieve zero-emission transport. The station has a redundant design and can supply more than 50 fuel cell buses with fuel. Furthermore, the station can be scaled up to serve other fuel cell vehicles such as trucks and taxis. Public transport company Connexxion, the leading zero-emission operator in the Netherlands, operates the fuel cell electric buses in Heinenoord. Everfuel has committed to supplying green hydrogen and providing service and maintenance at this station for at least 12 years.
The gas station was created through a collaboration between the province of South Holland, the municipality of Hoeksche Waard, Connexxion and Everfuel, the party that built and put the station into use.
Everfuel and Hy24, which manages the world's largest clean hydrogen infrastructure fund, announced earlier this year the creation of a €200 million joint venture. This collaboration is intended to accelerate the development of electrolysis capacity in the Nordic countries. Everfuel will hold a majority 51% stake in the joint venture, while Hy24-managed Clean H2 Infra Fund will own the remaining 49%.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen welcomes the investment and the partnership. “Green hydrogen and e-fuels will play a major role in the decarbonization of industries such as shipping, aviation and heavy transport,” Rasmussen said. “So this is not only good news for green energy production in Denmark, but also for our global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.”
This new investment in electrolysis capacity appears to be in line with the company's commitment to focus on more sustainable and potentially more profitable market segments, such as heavy transport and industrial applications. The partnership with Hy24 and the significant financial injection now offer Everfuel the opportunity to realize these ambitious plans more quickly.
Finally, Everfuel revealed total revenues of €2,06 million in the second quarter of 2023, a significant increase from €456.000 in the same period of the previous year. Direct revenue from hydrogen sales amounted to €282.000, an increase of 3% compared to the same quarter in 2022.
