3 way battle in Clean Propulsion?

Are we looking at a three-way battle in how our planes, trains and automobiles are powered in the future? 

I think it’s looking increasingly likely nowadays. As governments around the world set emissions targets and people become more concerned about environmental impact, there's no wonder alternatives to the classic fossil fuel means of propulsion are becoming increasingly common.

For a long time, Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) have led the way as a fossil fuel alternative. But are they the only option for the future of propulsion? Or could something else take market share?

The one we're most familiar with, Battery Electric

I am quite sure that I’ll be dead before F1 goes fully battery electric. Formula E has been around for a while, but it enjoys global audiences much lower than F1 (tens of millions vs. knocking on the door of a billion!). Whilst constructors like Ferrari continue to compete at the forefront of F1, I am confident that some form of internal combustion engine will remain.

But BEVs are what most people immediately think of when they think of more environmentally friendly commercial cars to own and drive. 2024 reached a milestone for BEV sales with one in five cars sold being electric, and this is only set to rise over the coming years!

A very recent development in this space comes from China who have been trialling battery swap stations. Instead of waiting an hour for your battery to fully charge, you simply swap in a fully charged battery in 5 minutes and away you go. If this method can be replicated on a grand scale, then this could be a major breakthrough in making BEVs mainstream.

It isn’t all rosy in the BEV world though; new OEMs like Rivian have struggled to meet production targets and are burning through cash, and existing OEMs like the Volkswagen Group are winding back on commitments to go all electric. Concerns remain amongst the public over charging infrastructure availability and cost which dove tails in with and compounds range anxiety.

Battery electric is the frontrunner in this race. You wouldn't bet against them, but are there any underdogs that have the opportunity to upset the odds?

Is Hydrogen gaining some momentum, finally?!

Hydrogen being used as a fuel to power internal combustion engines can be traced all the way back to 1806 and an invention by Swiss engineer, François Isaac de Rivaz. But despite dabbles in hydrogen over the years by many different automotive OEMs, it’s never really taken off.

Green hydrogen is expensive to produce, storing it safely and cost effectively can be tricky, and the infrastructure for refuelling with hydrogen is borderline non-existent (there are only 1,020 refuelling stations globally). Sales of hydrogen cars fell by 20% in 2024 (the second year in a row that sales experienced a sharp decline).

So why am I even talking about it then? Well, I think this long-standing fuel choice might finally be set to dulcify the mobility industry’s march to a greener, cleaner future!

The Hydrogen Council and McKinsey & Company highlighted growth by 35% in hydrogen investments in 2023. Companies like ZeroAvia are developing tech to make planes fly on hydrogen and Airbus got involved as an investor in their latest funding round. Mitsubishi is investing $600m+ in a new green hydrogen production facility in the Netherlands. Shipyards in Norway are building hydrogen powered ferries right now. There was even an Alpine Alpenglow Hy4 running on hydrogen at Le Mans last year!

Hydrogen as a means of propulsion in mobility is a bit like an up and coming team in F1. They may not have won anything, but they are gaining momentum and I expect them to be winning very soon.

An outside chance? Synthetic fuels…

In 2026, all F1 cars will run on ‘100% sustainable’ synthetic fuel (sometimes also called e-fuel). For a sport that has been at the forefront of automotive innovation for decades, this is a big statement of intent. And it clearly signals where top names in the industry believe clean propulsion is heading.

Porsche is leading the way in synthetic fuel development and implementation. They started what appears to be a very successful pilot in synthetic fuel production in Chile in late 2022, that is now producing some 130,000 litres per year. Even more impressively, post-pilot, Porsche is expecting this plant to scale up and be able to produce 55 million litres a year in the next few years!

The big problem with synthetic fuel is the cost. Estimations today range between £200 and £2,000 to fill up your car with synthetic fuel! Projections are that even in 2050, synthetic fuels will be 30% more expensive than hydrogen.

There are currently more than 1.3 billion vehicles with combustion engines worldwide so the appeal of keeping these on the road in an environmentally friendly way by running them on synthetic fuel is obviously hugely appealing.

Which leads me to conclude that, a bit like the outside chance synthetic fuels has of powering your car, plane or train in 2030, I am not betting against the combined might of global mobility and energy businesses, making synthetic fuel more cost effective to the consumer.

So what's this all got to do with recruitment?

Well, as with any emerging tech, for those at the forefront of clean mobility development having the right people in place to help them achieve business objectives is critical. Because these industries are still in relative infancy, getting the talent they need can be challenging. Whether they're choosing to look cross-industry for the skills they need, harnessing the strength of 'homegrown' talent by hiring fresh graduates and upskilling them, or paying through the nose to relocate skills across the globe, talent strategy sits at the heart of getting this new tech out there in the world.

So if you're in the clean propulsion space and looking to hire the skills that'll help you meet your next goals, check out our Clean Propulsion Skills Report here. 

Interested in hearing about opportunities we have within Clean Propulsion & Motorsport? Feel free to reach out to me on chris.mapp@fmctalent.com