By Gary S. Vasilash

Although hydrogen fuel cell enthusiasts are probably saddened by Shell’s announcement that it is shutting off the valves at its hydrogen refueling stations in California, there was some good news this week—albeit not exactly for those who are driving Toyota Mirais or Honda Claritys in SoCal.

Extreme E, the off-road FIA-sanctioned racing series in which electric vehicles are run, is transitioning to Extreme H, which will swap out battery power for fuel cells next year.

So Extreme E becomes Extreme H.

But the good news is that the series and Symbio have announced that the latter will become the “Official Hydrogen Fuel Cell” provider to Extreme H.

Symbio?

It is a Europe-based company established by Michelin, Stellantis and Forvia (each company owns a third) that is dedicated to fuel cell systems.

In December 2023 Symbio opened SymphonHy, a gigafactory in France that currently has the production capacity to produce 16,000 fuel cells. It expects to expand that number to 50,000 by 2026.

Notably, Symbio partner company Stellantis has announced that it is developing hydrogen tech for Ram brand pickups. It already offers hydrogen versions of Peugeot, Citroen and Opel commercial vehicles in Europe.

Using hydrogen for Ram could be a proverbial game-changer.

And speaking of games (OK, a sport): If nothing else, the affiliation with the Extreme H racing series will provide attention to the tech.

Extreme E is having a race in Phoenix this year, so assuming that goes well, the U.S. will be part of the series.

Perhaps Extreme H will make more people in the U.S. interested in the possibility of fuel cells in place of battery electrics.

And maybe those Shell hydrogen stations will be reopened or replaced.