Growth Opportunities in the North American Hydrogen Infrastructure Market for Trucks

Growth Opportunities in the North American Hydrogen Infrastructure Market for Trucks

Rising Adoption of Hydrogen-based FCEV Trucks Drive Investments in Hydrogen Production and Refueling Stations

Immense growth opportunities exist in the hydrogen economy, addressing the needs of various industries and markets. There is a growing need for cheap and cleaner hydrogen sources from the manufacturing, power generation, transportation, and chemical industries. Different hydrogen production methods offer different opportunities, with greater emphasis and future advancement toward green hydrogen produced from renewable sources.

Demand for fuel cell trucks will increase gradually in the coming years. Stakeholders view this technology as complementing pure battery electric trucks rather than a competing powertrain. Frost & Sullivan forecasts high-duty (HD) fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) trucks in operation to record a 55.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2025 to 2035, with 322,294 units in operation by 2035. There are specific niche segments and applications where fuel cell trucks provide a better use case than battery electric vehicles. Along with lower battery weight, fuel cell trucks can provide higher load-carrying ability and miles between refueling. We expect the long-haul share in the HD FCEV truck segment to grow from 60.3% in 2025 to 75% in 2035.

The proliferation of fuel cell trucks will require sufficient hydrogen refueling stations to address their needs. These stations must cater specifically to trucks and require a higher daily hydrogen production capacity than those for passenger cars. This would also create greater demand for storage tanks; compressors; chillers; and, for green hydrogen, electrolyzers. Frost & Sullivan projects the daily hydrogen demand for medium and high-duty FCEV trucks to register a 54.6% CAGR from 2025 to 2035, reaching almost 12,000 tons by 2035. The total number of hydrogen refueling stations will likely grow from 186 in 2025 to 7,210 by 2035.

Frost & Sullivan offers stakeholders insights into this rapidly growing market to enable them to explore and monetize emerging opportunities.

KEY ISSUES ADDRESSED

Number of Fuel Cell Trucks in operation in North America and forecast?
Total daily hydrogen demand from M&HD fuel cell trucks in North America in the future?
Number of hydrogen refueling stations expected to come in North America catering to trucks by 2035?
Investment and operation running costs involved in setting up a grey and green hydrogen refueling station in North America?
Revenue and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) associated with investment in grey and green hydrogen infrastructure?