Shell: Hydrogen Fuel Not Economical in Czech Republic Now

Isn’t electromobility a dead end?

Not. Although we have different access. Shell has undertaken to carbon neutrality by 2050, by 2030 CO₂ emissions by 50 percent against 2016 and electromobility is one way. In terms of our strategy, we are convinced that electromobility is particularly important for cars and small trucks. There we see the greatest efficiency.

For freight transport, we currently see more suitable alternatives, such as Biolng or LNG (liquefied natural gas), or HVO (low -emission diesel, made of renewable raw materials, especially waste, such as used table oil or animal fats). And in terms of more distant future we see a place for hydrogen.

At the moment, however, it does not make economic meaning at the moment, because everything we consider to be feasible and sustainable must also be effective.

You mean economically effective.

So. Economically effective. We are a private company, we have shares caught on the London and New York stock exchange and we have to behave effectively.

If you say that by 2050 shell wants to be carbon neutral, it doesn’t sound somewhat strange from a company that is one of the symbols of classic fossil fuels and the smell of gasoline in the world?

Look, I love the smell of petrol. We are a company that has been supplying energy to the market for more than 100 years. All the time there have been fossil fuels with us. But now I drive a hybrid drive – mainly to gain the experience of both worlds and compare them. Our company has always been in the forefront of new energy solutions and so it is now. We are introducing processes and develop products that help in the transition to carbon neutrality. We do the best we can. We move towards clean energy. And our steps are also heading about it.

The question is if there were a Greenpeace representative here, if he would agree with you that all the steps of Shell were heading towards green technologies…

I understand. But we are a company that invests $ 10 to $ 15 billion worldwide in 2023-2025 in low-energy energy. We realize investments in green hydrogen, solar, wind energy, CCS solutions (carbon capture and storage), development of low -emission fuels and the like. In the Netherlands, in the second half of this decade we should be able to produce up to 80 tons of green hydrogen a day.

But isn’t the dead project a dead project until recently? Although the emission zero, refueling lasts as short as gasoline, the range is also comparable, but the price of the car is huge, much higher than today’s electric vehicles.

On the contrary, hydrogen is ready to play a key role in energy transformation. It has the potential to decarbonize difficult to electrified sectors such as chemical industry, oil refine, steel production, commercial road transport, aviation and maritime transport. We see opportunities across the entire hydrogen supply chain, including production, storage, transport and solutions for end customers. I believe that hydrogen will gradually find its place. It is simply not a revolution, it will be more evolution, gradual steps.

Who buys it? Even hydrogen like fuel is very expensive.

Our hydrogen production has sales in Europe, America and Asia. Hydrogen run trucks or boats. But as I say, its application is primarily in industry. In transport, we currently see the opportunity to decarbonize mainly by more economically efficient and developed technologies such as biofuels or HVO and in passenger transport plays primarily the electromobility.

In order to expand new technologies, the market conditions must be created. Technological, legislative, infrastructure, but there must also be demand for these cars.

But it is not given. How many cars do hydrogen in the Czech Republic? Hardly ten? And American California has left the once gigantic intention to expand hydrogen cars and refueling cars with a fuel cell. In the Czech Republic, there are only a few dozen LNG trucks. So why do you plunge into projects that no one wants?

I have already mentioned that hydrogen technology does not currently make such an economic sense. But we have technologies that can efficiently replace the hydrogen technology that is considered to be the cleanest. The aforementioned LNG and Biolng. Biolng is an ease of freight transport.

In the Czech Republic we offer 100 % biolng at two petrol stations. Shell invests in the production and infrastructure of LNG and Biolng throughout Europe. In 2024, a new liquefaction plant was opened in Rhineland, Germany, which can produce up to 100,000 tons of Shell Biolng fuel annually.

This amount will help approximately five thousand trucks significantly reduce their carbon emissions. We also started selling Shell Renewable Diesel on the D5 motorway, fuel in the Czech Republic known as HVO. This has up to 90 % reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to conventional B7 diesel and trucks can refuel it directly into existing vehicles.

How many crowns per liter will biolng cost more than a classic diesel?

This cannot be said clearly, because the price of diesel and the price of LNG is very changing and independent of each other. But we can say that the LNG price at our petrol stations, we have two in the Czech Republic, does not differ from the Biolng price. The Biolng path is an effective way to decarbonizing traffic.

Probably yes, but if this fuel and also in the organic version do not offer drivers at a price comparable to diesel or even cheaper, then it will not refuel. Just because it’s “green”.

Customers who have embarked on a journey of decarbonization acknowledge Biolng as a form that is effective for reducing carbon emissions. Shell Biolng provides up to 100 % reduction of carbon dioxide emissions compared to Diesel B7.

So they are just companies. They must report their savings of emissions.

Yes. We have companies that have goals that Shell also has, and which the LNG or Biolng fleet is constantly growing. It is crucial for carriers that Biolng can use in their existing LNG vehicles without any technical modifications.

This is LNG, liquefied natural gas. And what about compressed natural gas CNG, which was a few years ago by a hit, the state promoted it and generously subsidized for passenger cars and supplies and even city buses, but now there is not much to hear about it. Cars on CNG do not gain.

We offer some CNG pumps, but this is a product for passenger cars. While LNG and Biolng are transporting a tank, you need a pipe that brings it to the filling stations. When we talk about freight transport, CNG is not so effective, the range of cars to CNG is 400 or 500 kilometers, while on LNG truck up to 1800 kilometers. And for passenger cars and small freight transport, we see the opportunity for the electromobility.

It won’t work without any other chargers

There are more than three thousand charging stations for about 50,000 electric vehicles. Is it enough or little?

The development of infrastructure and support for electric vehicles is needed. In the preparation of infrastructure, fast chargers should be built, which are not so much in the Czech Republic. It is a way that has to be developed. Even if you have a Wallbox recharge at home and charge a battery electric car or plug-in Hybrid at home or at work, expanding the number of fast charging stations is essential.

It is also positive that the state also focuses on this need. We decided to build high -speed hubs on the D4 motorway so that the possibilities of recharging as soon as possible on the main highway moves are the highest as possible. We offer charging mushrooms with eight high -speed chargers in both directions of the highway.

But on the European map of your recharge network Shell Recharge is quite thin in the place of the Czech Republic. Compared to other countries. What is it? Leaving aside the high purchase price of the electric car.

The Czech customer is simply very conservative. But it’s slowly changing. We see that the number of electroaut increases significantly this year and it can be expected that a positive customer experience will turn into a more growing interest. In particular, but not only, for company cars, because 75 percent are fleet fleets.

At present, we have the possibility of recharging from the 187 Shell stations for almost 20 of them, it means that there are more than 60 recharge points in our Shell Recharge network in the Czech Republic.

Shell is a symbol of mining, refiner business and fuel sales. But you have only six of all refineries around the world now, and over the past ten years you have sold your networks of petrol stations in about nine countries. What’s the matter? Why?

It’s part of our strategy. We innovate refiner business to meet the requirements for the production of clean energy. Our portfolio of refineries turns into energy and chemical parks, more focused on the production of low -carbon fuels, such as biofuels, hydrogen or synthetic fuels. When you ask about retail business, you’re right, there are countries from which Shell has decided to leave. For example, it was in Russia, in response to a war conflict.

According to my findings, the countries are nine in ten years. Will you leave the Czech Republic?

Shell has been in the Czech Republic since April 26, 1991, so it will be 35 years old next year. We have brought many innovations, a new spirit to do this business stations. Remember what this field looked like at the time. We in the Czech Republic are continually investing, including investments in alternative fuels, and bringing new technologies, we are the only Western, global brand that has remained on the market. In addition, the Czech Republic has a convenient location, a transit country for truck transport.