Talk of hydrogen fuel for emission-free vehicles was back at CES 2024

Last year looked as though H2 was going out of fashion, but the big Las Vegas event brought it back.

It’s true that electric vehicles have certainly taken the majority share of the emission-free car market, but CES 2024 proved that hydrogen fuel cars still very much has its place and remains a part of the conversation among automakers.

Two carmakers in particular have kept H2 in the headlines for carbon emission-free vehicles.

Hyundai used its time at the CES 2024 to place its hydrogen fuel strategy into the spotlight. It showed its plans for using H2 as clean energy for powering fuel cells, indicating that these efforts will support a “hydrogen society” as it breaks into energy production, storage, and transport.

Hyundai Motor Co. resident and global chief operating officer José Muñoz spoke at the event, saying that the company’s plans are already technologically feasible. Moreover, he underscored that moving forward in this direction will also make good economic sense in coming years.

Bosch was another company that used CES 2024 to talk about a future using hydrogen fuel.

Bosch Mobility announced its intentions to launch its first H2 combustion engine before the end of this year. It pointed to this strategy as an important step in slashing carbon emissions from human-made sources. This was interesting to event attendees and participants as much of the focus regarding hydrogen fuel in the automotive industry has been on fuel cell technology.

H2 combustion engines are considered to be low-carbon as opposed to being emission-free, but are still notably less polluting than even the most efficient fossil fuel-powered vehicles on today’s roads.

Bosch and Hyundai have both said that they have been driven to accelerate their efforts in their various H2-based strategies due to investments and financial incentives such as the US government’s $7 billion in funding for the development of an H2 infrastructure in the country.

A rejuvenated future in H2

Though electric vehicles are certainly leading the way in passenger vehicles at the moment, the conversation at CES 2024 has made it clear that hydrogen fuel is far from forgotten and that automakers remain interested in what it represents along the path to decarbonization.