Conflict and soaring costs: Paris hydrogen taxi operator Hype pivots to BEVs

Hype’s hydrogen taxi fleet in Paris was initially set to grow to as many as 1,000 vehicles. However, due to frustrations with hydrogen supply and escalating costs, the operator is now shifting to battery-electric taxis. The final straw was the insolvency of electrolyser manufacturer McPhy.

The company Hype, which operates a fleet of H2 taxis in the Paris metropolitan area, is not only switching to BEVs but also airing its grievances publicly. In a statement on LinkedIn, Hype openly criticised players like Air Liquide and TotalEnergies, accusing them of creating “a kind of oligopoly.”

Hydrogen prices have “exploded” since 2021, Hype claims. Moreover, there is reportedly no viable pathway to green hydrogen in the Île-de-France region around the capital. To make matters worse, French electrolyser maker McPhy has now declared insolvency – a major blow for Hype, which says it could lose up to €6 million invested in four joint projects in the Paris area. “McPhy’s sudden bankruptcy filing has blindsided everyone, especially its clients,” the hydrogen taxi operator writes.

Looking back, the Hype fleet has been active in the French capital since 2015. At the time, the plan was to expand the fleet to 600 hydrogen taxis by 2020. In February 2019, Air Liquide, Idex, Société du Taxi Électrique Parisien (STEP), and Toyota formed the joint venture HysetCo to that end, with TotalEnergies joining in 2021. But the expansion never really gained traction: by 2023, Hype was reportedly operating around 300 H2 taxis.

Conflict between Hype and HysetCo

Over the years, HysetCo evolved into a hydrogen-focused Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) provider for the Paris region. Last year, the JV claimed to be delivering almost 30 tonnes of hydrogen monthly and managing a fleet of over 500 hydrogen vehicles – including, but not limited to, Hype’s taxis. In 2024, HysetCo raised €200 million in new funding and brought in the hydrogen investment fund Hy24 as its largest shareholder. Meanwhile, Hype has remained the operator of its fleet since 2015. The two sides have clearly diverged, and Hype now openly criticises HysetCo backers TotalEnergies and Air Liquide.

The Paris-based firm argues that the cost of grey hydrogen for its fuel cell taxis has doubled since TotalEnergies entered the hydrogen mobility market in 2021. Hype claims: “Grey hydrogen and its fig leaf, blue hydrogen, have won out in the Île-de-France region – and that must have consequences.”

It accuses Air Liquide and TotalEnergies of building an oligopoly through various legal entities such as HysetCo, Hy24, and the TEAL JV – all formally independent but reportedly controlled or influenced by these corporations. At the same time, both firms are promoting massive investments in green hydrogen, but without clear timelines. Hype knocks these as overly distant and vague.

Hydrogen Insight reports that Air Liquide has already pushed back against the allegations, claiming that Hype is constructing a narrative to serve its legal dispute with HysetCo.

What is clear: the escalating conflict and current price levels have laid the groundwork for Hype’s strategic U-turn. The company says the present economic environment is stifling hydrogen mobility – which also receives insufficient public support. “Against this backdrop, Hype can no longer guarantee a viable path to green hydrogen in the Île-de-France region, and we do not want to risk acting as a front for potential greenwashing in hydrogen mobility.”

Hype still sees potential for hydrogen in buses, coaches, dump trucks, tractors, and specialist vehicles, as well as in vans for persons with reduced mobility. The company may continue to operate these, “provided we find an industrial partner whose readiness matches the current maturity of such products.” But for its core business, Hype is going electric. Several hundred BEVs will be added to the fleet this year, with the goal of converting 100% of the 60,000 taxis and private hire vehicles (VTCs) in the Paris region to zero-emission models before 2030.

“What happened to McPhy is a warning sign”

The immediate catalyst for Hype’s decision to pivot away from hydrogen is the insolvency of McPhy. Since its inception, Hype says it has worked to succeed in a “complex competitive landscape”. Green hydrogen has always been central to its vision – yet McPhy, the only French electrolyser manufacturer, has now suddenly collapsed. Electrolysers are crucial for producing green hydrogen.

“What happened to McPhy is a warning sign,” says Hype. Trust in France’s hydrogen sector is increasingly difficult to maintain. McPhy received considerable subsidies, and Hype questions whether public authorities will “do what is necessary to ensure McPhy’s obligations to its customers are met” – Hype being one of them.

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