Hydrogen and its derivatives are finally making their way from hype to reality, especially in the transport sector. To understand why now is the turning point, what challenges remain, and where the industry is headed, we spoke with Mattias Goldmann, one of Sweden’s most respected voices in sustainability, who’s focusing on hydrogen in transport.
Goldmann has a long career in climate policy, sustainable mobility, and international climate advocacy. He’s led climate initiatives in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, served as Head of Sustainability at SWECO, and now leads the 2030 Secretariat, working to make Sweden’s transport sector fossil-free by 2030.
Why hydrogen is gaining momentum now
For decades, hydrogen has been hailed as the “fuel of the future”, always five years away from a breakthrough. But according to Goldmann, that future is finally beginning to materialize, especially for hydrogen in transport, but also in energy storage, and industrial applications.
He sees three major shifts driving hydrogen forward in a way that sets this moment apart from the past. First, we’re entering a new era of variable energy production, with wind and solar becoming dominant. They’re cheap, scalable, and increasingly efficient.
– We now have moments when electricity is almost free, or even comes with negative pricing. That completely changes the logic. Suddenly, storing that surplus as hydrogen makes real economic sense, Goldmann explains.
Second, there’s a growing awareness that batteries alone won’t solve all challenges.
– I love battery electric vehicles, but they won’t get us across the Atlantic or power long-haul freight shipping. Even on the roads, for the longest routes, batteries alone might not cut it. We need something else, and hydrogen-powered vehicles fills that gap, he says.
Third, today’s geopolitical reality is forcing countries to rethink energy resilience.
– What Russia is doing in Ukraine is tragic, but it has also highlighted the dangers of depending on a single energy solution. We need a mix. Hydrogen that is produced locally and aligned with climate goals offers resilience. And it’s worth remembering that hydrogen is also an electric solution, just stored differently.
What are the biggest challenges for the hydrogen industry today?
– One challenge is psychological. We’ve cried wolf for decades, saying hydrogen is just around the corner. That has made it harder to convince people it’s actually happening now, Goldmann states.
Another key challenge is cost. Hydrogen remains expensive to transport and compress, even as production itself becomes cheaper.
– Every new fuel is expensive at first. Gasoline was once sold in small bottles at pharmacies! Electrolyzers are still costly and need to be installed in multiples. We have technical breakthroughs coming, but we’re not there yet.
And finally, Goldmann notes that we need to be smarter about where we push for hydrogen. He doesn’t believe hydrogen-powered passenger cars will take off. So if we put too much energy or political capital into that segment, it might backfire and reduce momentum in the sectors where hydrogen actually makes sense, like heavy transport.
How the hydrogen business case is finally coming together
So how do we overcome the challenges stated above? Despite years of hype, Goldmann believes the real tipping point for hydrogen in transport, and elsewhere, will come when it makes business sense. And that moment is already starting to arrive.
– We don’t need to convince every citizen, Goldmann says. What we need is a total cost calculation that makes sense for professionals like shipping companies, hauliers, long-distance bus operators. They know how to run the numbers, and they don’t just look at the sticker price.
And we’re already seeing it happen. Destination Gotland has ordered its first hydrogen-powered ferry. Transport firms like MaserFrakt in Sweden are running long-distance trucks on hydrogen because stopping for an hour to charge a battery just doesn’t work for them. If being hydrogen-powered gets them back on the road in minutes, it’s a sound business case.
– Stopping for over an hour to charge electric truck batteries isn’t attractive to them. They want to refuel quickly and keep moving. And that’s where hydrogen becomes viable.
Why hydrogen needs policy support and smart procurement
While technology is moving forward, policy support remains inconsistent, and in some cases, actively unhelpful.
– In Sweden, the political focus has been so heavily on keeping fossil fuels cheap that it’s made life harder for fossil-free alternatives, Goldmann says. But the law is on our side. Sweden’s climate goals are legally binding, as are the EU’s. The polluter-pays principle should apply here.
He also highlights procurement as a crucial lever, particularly for large-scale buyers of transport services.
– You and I buying a shirt or some groceries doesn’t change much. But when big retailers or supermarkets start requiring sustainable transport from origin to store, that’s when hydrogen in transport really takes off. Because in long-distance freight, there just aren’t many better alternatives.
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The future depends on context, clarity, and commitment
Looking ahead, Goldmann is confident that hydrogen will find its place. Not everywhere, but where it adds real value. He states that it’s not about pushing hydrogen into every niche, but about identifying where it’s the best tool and building the infrastructure and policies to support it.
With a career spanning politics, sustasinability consulting, and international climate work, he emphasizes that solutions must fit the local context.
– What works in Sweden might not work in Thailand. But the common thread is this: the transition needs to be easy, enjoyable, and profitable. That’s how we move forward.
As head of the 2030 Secretariat, Goldmann remains focused on the goal of a fossil-free Swedish transport sector by the end of the decade. The deadline is ambitious, but necessary.
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