Hydrogen is a clean eco-friendly way for us to power our vehicles that emits only water vapor and has net-zero emissions. Hype is a company based out of Paris, France who owns the world’s first 100% hydrogen taxi fleet.
Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV), or hydrogen vehicles, provide us with huge potential to replace fossil fuels around the globe and instantly have a positive effect on the environment.
Mathieu Gardies wanted to reduce emissions and his carbon footprint, so in 2009 he launched an electric taxi company. But, by 2015 many of the battery-powered vehicles failed and this was right around the time hydrogen technology was being introduced. So, Mathieu decided to bet on Hydrogen and launched Hype just before the World Climate Summit 2015 – COP21, an early move on 100% hydrogen fuel taxis.
Mathieu talks about the difference between the two technologies:
Electric vehicles with batteries are not a good solution for taxis in Paris. Hydrogen taxis eliminate the need to stop the vehicle. It is easier to tell a driver to bet on hydrogen because it will not change the way they work. Hydrogen vehicles have a great advantage over their electric battery counterparts: they can refuel in 3-5 minutes. They also have more autonomy, up to 500 kilometers. Both features make hydrogen a perfect solution for taxis.
The disadvantage is the lack of filling stations currently available, not just in France but throughout the world. With such a small number of FCEVs (just over 11,000) in 2019, there was not much of a demand.
To address this issue, Mathieu reached out to Air Liquid, the French industry leader in hydrogen. The Hype taxi fleet provides sufficient demand for the 4 Air Liquide stations located around Paris.
To date, Hype hydrogen taxis have traveled more than 4.4 million kilometers, transported over 650,000 passengers and avoided more than 2 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from entering the atmosphere. Hype has now partnered up with Toyota and are expected to increase their taxi fleet from 110 vehicles up to 600 FCEV’s by the end of 2020.
Hype was awarded the Solar Impulse Efficient Label in May 2019, due to their positive impact in reducing air pollution and strong economic impact.
