“Last week at the massive Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, some companies presented hydrogen as an alternative fuel star of the future. That may be a bit surprising, considering some headlines proclaimed that hydrogen is dead as late as last fall,” reported Popular Science.

Affordability remains a challenge. Popular Science notes that hydrogen currently costs $13-16 per kilogram, which is roughly equivalent to two gallons of gasoline.

Honda is a proponent of hydrogen, noting that it’s an effective way to store the energy captured through wind and solar power. In 2024, the brand will launch an all-new fuel cell vehicle based on the CR-V crossover.

Bosch and Nikola are two other companies investing in hydrogen. As reported in Transport Topics, Bosch “is broadening its strategy for hydrogen propulsion, adding plans for a hydrogen internal combustion engine to its current hydrogen fuel cell offering as it charts a path that views the fuel as central to a more sustainable future for trucking” Nikola touted its 2023 production of 42 hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks in 2023.

In other hydrogen news, last week the federal government granted about $70 million for the North Central Texas Council of Governments to build five hydrogen fueling stations. According to Popular Science, “these facilities are intended to shore up the heavy trucking corridor between Texas and southern California and promote the exchange of business.”