Hydrogen Fueling Station Explosion Halts Fuel Cell Car Sales by Toyota, Hyundai

An explosion at a hydrogen fueling station in Norway has called into question the safety of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, prompting Toyota and Hyundai to freeze new sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

John Loeffler

| Jun 11, 2019 05:58 PM EST

Created: Jun 11, 2019 05:58 PM EST

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An explosion at a hydrogen fueling station in Norway has prompted Toyota and Hyundai to freeze sales of its hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Hydrogen Fueling Station in Norway Explodes

After a massive explosion at a hydrogen fueling station in Norway, Toyota and Hyundai have halted all sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, InsideEVs is reporting. The Uno-X station in Sandvika, Norway suffered a massive explosion of one of its hydrogen tanks, shutting down a major intersection and forcing the city's fire department to establish a safety zone of 500 meters around the station.

The explosion was so large, in fact, that it set off airbags in nearby cars, resulting in the only two injuries reported at the scene.

Hydrogen fuel cell technology is often promoted as an alternative to fossil fuels, but the technology hasn't seen the kind of lift-off that electric vehicles have in recent years. Now, after yesterday's explosion, the future of the technology looks even more questionable. "We were often criticizing hydrogen fuel cell cars as a poor alternative for all-electric," InsideEVs' Mark Kane writes, "because of low energy efficiency, high cost and lack of refueling infrastructure. As the charging times decreased in new BEVs thanks to ultra-fast chargers and the range on a single charge increased, it seemed that FCVs will never have a chance to take off. Any issues with safety (especially if repeated) only adds to the challenge."