Stellantis Discontinues Its Hydrogen Programme Amid Weak Demand

Stellantis has discontinued its hydrogen fuel cell technology development programme due to slow market demand.

While several brands still persist with their hydrogen technology development, Stellantis has decided to pull the plug for its own hydrogen fuel cell technology development programme. This decision was made merely weeks away from the intended production commencement for its hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) in Europe, citing weak demand and lack of infrastructure as the main reasons for the cancellation.

The automotive conglomerate further elaborated in its official statement that much of the decision stems from the limited availability of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure in Europe, high capital requirements, as well as the lack of strong incentives to attract purchases.

Additionally, Stellantis even cast their own doubts towards the technology, citing that light commercial FCEVs are unlikely to see widespread adoption before the end of the decade.

With this cancellation, Stellantis is now exploring options regarding the position of some of its partnerships in the hydrogen technology development, including Symbio, the hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer in which the group acquired a 33.3% stake back in 2023. Symbio is a joint venture between Michelin and Forvia, with the aim to scale up hydrogen FCEV production in Europe and North America.

Despite the programme shutdown, Stellantis insists that this decision will not impact staffing at any of its production sites, and employees who worked on the R&D for FCEV will be reassigned to other projects within the group.

Stellantis COO for Enlarged Europe Jean-Philippe Imparato

“In a context where the company is mobilising to respond to demanding CO₂ regulations in Europe, Stellantis has decided to discontinue its hydrogen fuel cell technology development program,” explains Jean-Philippe Imparato, Stellantis COO for Enlarged Europe.

“The hydrogen market remains a niche segment, with no prospects of mid-term economic sustainability. We must make clear and responsible choices to ensure our competitiveness and meet the expectations of our customers with our electric and hybrid passenger and light commercial vehicles offensive,” the COO continued.

Prior to this dissolution, Stellantis had a pretty ambitious plan for its hydrogen venture, with the group planning to launch up to eight FCEV models under the Stellantis Pro One lineup, ranging from midsize to large vans like the Citroen e-Jumpy, Opel Vivaro, Peugeot E-Expert, and many more.

As mentioned earlier, those FCEV vans were supposed to go into production later in summer this year, with the group’s plant in Hordain, France, in charge of producing the medium-sized vans, while the Gliwice plant in Poland was tasked with the large vans instead.

With Stellantis now retreating from the hydrogen game, the fate of this carbon-neutral alternative now lies with several other automakers like Toyota, BMW, and Hyundai, with all of them still seeing potential for this relatively new technology in their own mobility ecosystems.