German Government Allocates €500m in Subsidies for Hydrogen Cars and Filling Stations

One sentence summary – The German government has allocated nearly €500m in subsidies for hydrogen cars and filling stations since 2007, but the national taxpayers’ federation, Bund der Steuerzahler (BdSt), has criticized this spending as “absurd” and “pointless” due to the less efficiency of hydrogen cars compared to battery-powered electric cars, calling for an end to subsidies for hydrogen cars and raising concerns about the effectiveness of the investments made.

At a glance

• The German government has allocated nearly €500m in subsidies for hydrogen cars and filling stations since 2007.
• The national taxpayers’ federation, Bund der Steuerzahler (BdSt), has criticized this spending, labeling it as “absurd” and “pointless.”
• BdSt argues that hydrogen cars are less efficient than battery-powered electric cars and calls for an end to subsidies for hydrogen cars.
• The research institute of BdSt, the DSi, questions the use of hydrogen in the passenger car sector and concludes that the technology is questionable.
• There are concerns about the effectiveness of the investments made, as there are only 2,346 fuel-cell cars currently on German roads, resulting in over €190,000 of subsidies per car.

The details

The German government has allocated nearly €500m in subsidies for hydrogen cars and filling stations since 2007.

The national taxpayers’ federation, Bund der Steuerzahler (BdSt), has criticized this spending.

BdSt has labeled the spending as “absurd” and “pointless.”

The federation argues that hydrogen cars are less efficient than battery-powered electric cars.

BdSt is calling for an end to subsidies for hydrogen cars.

The research institute of BdSt, the DSi, has questioned the use of hydrogen in the passenger car sector.

DSi has concluded that the technology is questionable.

Green hydrogen, made from renewable energy, is considered a waste of resources due to energy losses in the conversion process.

This raises concerns about the effectiveness of the investments made.

It is estimated that at least €450m of taxpayers’ money has been spent on subsidizing hydrogen cars and refueling.

This is in addition to EU funding.

There are only 2,346 fuel-cell cars currently on German roads.

This results in over €190,000 of subsidies per car.

The market demand for hydrogen cars seems to be significantly lower compared to battery electric vehicles.

In the first five months of this year, only 168 fuel-cell cars were sold in Germany.

In the same period, nearly 168,000 battery electric vehicles were sold.

This discrepancy calls into question the allocation of subsidies towards hydrogen cars.

The National Organisation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW) has demanded more government subsidies.

However, the DSi analysis opposes this viewpoint.

The German Ministry of Transport has stated that €242m has been directly invested in hydrogen passenger cars.

€210m has been allocated for filling station construction.

The numerous funding measures from the federal government have attracted criticism from the BdSt.

The EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, which mandates the installation of public hydrogen filling stations, is now a law.

This regulation adds an additional dimension to the debate surrounding hydrogen car subsidies.

The German government’s substantial investment in hydrogen cars and filling stations has faced criticism from BdSt.

The debate revolves around the efficiency of hydrogen cars compared to battery electric vehicles.

There are concerns about the questionable technological viability of hydrogen in the passenger car sector.

There are also concerns about the cost-effectiveness of subsidies.

The limited market demand for fuel-cell cars and the push for more subsidies from NOW further complicate the situation.

The EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation adds an additional layer of significance to the ongoing discussion.

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