Today on the flagship podcast of hydrogen futures: The Verge’s William Poor, Andrew Marino, and Alex Parkin head to California to figure out why hydrogen fuel cell technology, once a super-promising successor to gasoline, lost out to battery electric cars. They also put the embattled tech to the test with a road trip across California’s “hydrogen highway.” Further reading: Check out the interactive map of our trip: https://www.theverge.com/c/2024/8/20/24195787/lost-highway Watch the video version of the story: https://youtu.be/Mc9XaeEyZ8M?si=QGQURWh6B6Njqfkg Read Andrew Hawkins’ story about the future of hydrogen fuel cell tech: https://www.theverge.com/e/23985859 Read Justine Calma’s coverage of federal green hydrogen programs: https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/22/24012141/hydrogen-tax-credit-45v-biden-treasury-irs-clean-energy Go deep into California zero emission transportation policy: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ Credits: Fact Check by Jasmine Arielle Ting Thanks to: Bill Elrick, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership Michael McCurdy, California State Library Archival footage courtesy of Global ImageWorks, LLC 00:00 Intro and studio redecoration 02:32 A road trip on the hydrogen highway 08:02 Challenges of hydrogen fueling stations 19:08 The rise of battery electric vehicles 23:12 First Element's struggles 28:06 Life 360 ad 29:14 Journey to Harris Ranch 30:55 Hydrogen pump struggles 32:33 Steak-out at Harris Ranch 33:12 Meeting more hydrogen car drivers 35:04 Environmental impact of hydrogen 37:05 Hydrogen vs. battery electric vehicles 38:37 Exploring LA's hydrogen scene 44:20 Toyota's commitment to hydrogen 47:06 Reflecting on the road trip Subscribe: http://goo.gl/G5RXGs Like The Verge on Facebook: https://goo.gl/2P1aGc Follow on Twitter: https://goo.gl/XTWX61 Follow on Instagram: https://goo.gl/7ZeLvX Follow on TikTok: http://bit.ly/42VeCVU The Vergecast Podcast: https://pod.link/vergecast Decoder with Nilay Patel: https://link.chtbl.com/decoder More about our podcasts: https://www.theverge.com/podcasts Read More: http://www.theverge.com Community guidelines: http://bit.ly/2D0hlAv Wallpapers from The Verge: https://bit.ly/2xQXYJr If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may receive a commission without exerting any influence on editorial content. For more information about our ethics policy, visit: https://bit.ly/3P4bJgz