Europe is constructing a hydrogen-refuelling infrastructure network under its Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, which mandates stations along major motorway corridors at 200-kilometre intervals by 2030, with an estimated capital investment requirement of roughly €2.1 billion. The underlying policy rationale addresses a coordination problem: truck operators hesitate to purchase hydrogen vehicles without reliable cross-border refuelling access, while station investors lack confidence without existing customers.
South Korea presents a cautionary case study having pursued similar infrastructure-first policies. By August 2026, the country had installed 493 hydrogen refuelling units, achieving 74.7% of its 660-unit target by 2030. However, hydrogen vehicle registrations reached only 49,220 units, representing just 16.4% of the government’s 300,000-vehicle goal. More significantly, an assessment of 258 commercially active stations in the first half of 2026 found that 208 stations, or 80.6%, received government support to offset operating losses. Some newer stations had already ceased operations due to poor business prospects and financial difficulties.
South Korea’s experience demonstrates that coordinated government intervention on both supply and demand sides has not produced a self-sustaining network. The Jeonju Pyeonghwa station presents a potential success case, reporting operating break-even in 2024 while serving concentrated hydrogen-bus demand. However, this station benefited from subsidized refuelling infrastructure, served predictable high-volume users, and dispensed fossil-derived hydrogen. These conditions differ substantially from geographically mandated motorway stations designed primarily to meet spacing requirements rather than serve committed customers.
Additional complications affect Europe’s hydrogen strategy. The continent’s hydrogen industry remains predominantly based on conventional production methods, while renewable hydrogen costs materially more when accounting for transport, compression, and dispensing. This tension undermines both commercial viability and the climate objectives justifying the policy. Simultaneously, battery-electric truck technology is advancing and high-power charging infrastructure is being deployed, reducing the potential addressable demand for hydrogen stations over their asset lifetimes.
Europe retains the advantage of observing South Korea’s outcome before completing its own network expansion. Rather than discontinuing existing useful stations or preventing projects with committed fleet demand, policymakers should reconsider automatic geographic coverage expansion. New stations should undergo explicit evaluation of expected throughput, full capital and operating costs, required public subsidy levels, hydrogen pricing and production sources, and measurable climate value delivered by the transport they enable.
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