The Czech Republic is a country with a highly developed chemical industry that is practically the only producer and consumer of hydrogen. Until now, the predominant production methods have been partial oxidation (POX) of heavy oil fractions, steam methane reforming (SMR) and electrolysis. In other countries, the development of green hydrogen technologies is considered above all in the hydrogen production line from solar and wind energy. The Czech Republic is located in the center of Europe, with fewer hours of sunshine and less wind intensity than the coastal and southern countries, so the production of green hydrogen does not have allies in the country.

The transport sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and is one of the few sectors where these emissions are increasing. Hydrogen technologies make it possible to replace diesel and gasoline, even where the use of electric vehicles is very difficult, such as long-distance trucks. Due to the various taxes and levies currently applied to fossil fuels in transportation, it is possible to achieve price parity between low-carbon hydrogen and diesel at a higher hydrogen price than natural gas. The biggest constraints to the rapid deployment of hydrogen in transport are the high cost of fuel cell vehicles and the lack of infrastructure that will have to be built anew.

The application of hydrogen in transport supposes an absolutely essential reduction of polluting emissions from exhaust gases, since the products of this process are basically water (in the case of fuel cells), and in terms of combustion, a minimum of secondary pollutants is generated, especially nitrogen oxides. Mobility is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions and a segment in which greenhouse gas emissions are currently increasing. The use of low-carbon hydrogen as a fuel for cars is one way to eliminate these emissions.

The use of alternative fuels, including hydrogen, allows us to eliminate some of these additional costs and, thanks to this, we have the possibility of achieving comparable running costs between hydrogen and diesel at a price of around 4 euros per kilogram, which is far better from a hydrogen standpoint than the price needed to replace natural gas.