From the article, "A second obvious theme is the prevalence of hydrogen buses in industrial regions and cities that bought into the hydrogen for energy narrative that’s falling apart now. Cologne, Aberdeen, Bolzano, Groningen/Drenthe, and Wuppertal are all trying to be hydrogen valleys, centers of the hydrogen economy’s industry. That’s going badly because it was always a bad idea, devoid of thermodynamic and economic reality."

I think the last sentence speaks alot to hydrogens place in the sustainable energy field. It sounds like a good idea but the applications always seem to struggle with reality.

I fail to understand how using elemental hydrogen for storing energy has ever sounded like a good idea for anyone.

What sounds like a good idea is using fuel cells instead of ICEs, but using hydrocarbons as fuel, not dihydrogen (also solid carbon is a possible fuel).

The use of hydrocarbons can be carbon-neutral and sustainable, by making them from carbon dioxide and water.

There have been various experiments with fuel cells using other fuels than dihydrogen, but the main roadblocks have been a lower power at a given size than with pure hydrogen and the need for more frequent maintenance, besides the main disadvantage common to all kinds of fuel cells for now, high cost, due to expensive catalysts or to components such as separators that must be replaced frequently.

Nevertheless, we know that it is possible to make cheap and performant fuel cells, as demonstrated by any living being that breathes air.