The hydrogen fueling station on Peterburi tee has become something of a roadside curiosity. Its pump dispenses hydrogen at 700 bar pressure, but it's not operational yet — Alexela is still waiting for a usage permit from the city.

"We've been a bit delayed for various reasons. The most important thing to remember is that this is an innovation project. Things happen, sometimes the learning curve is longer, sometimes shorter. But at this point, we can say that mechanically everything is ready," said Artur Dianov, head of sustainable fuel development projects at Alexela.

As far back as January, the €80,000 Toyota hydrogen cars — emitting only clean water vapor instead of harmful exhaust — were ready to hit the streets. But only a third of the luxury sedans are in use today, with the rest sitting idle in a parking lot.

"Right now we have about ten cars on the road and the plan was to bring in 30. We're rolling forward slowly and bringing new drivers on board who want to try the car," said Bolt ride service director Oscar Rõõm.

So far, hydrogen has only been available from Utilitas' power plant in Väo. Estonia's first hydrogen station, opened in September, was designed primarily for heavy-duty vehicles, which means a Toyota Mirai can only be refueled to about half capacity there.

"For taxi work specifically, it's not very convenient. The maximum I managed to drive in the most efficient mode was 367 kilometers. There's around 60 kilometers of reserve and five more from the battery," said Mykhailo, a hydrogen taxi driver with Bolt.

Bolt's hydrogen cars, Alexela's fueling stations and Utilitas' production facilities were all built with EU taxpayer support. The €5 million green hydrogen chain is intended to build up know-how in case the technology ever takes off. For now, its success in private transport is hard to predict, a deputy secretary-general admitted.

"Hydrogen definitely has a role to play — pure hydrogen as well — but whether it will see broader use in passenger cars depends on the cost of getting hydrogen into the vehicle, which car models are available and at what price," said Jaanus Uiga, deputy secretary-general at the Ministry of Climate.

At Alexela's station, a kilogram of hydrogen costs €14. The cost per kilometer is roughly the same as driving on gasoline — significantly more expensive than the cost of driving an electric car charged during cheap market hours.

"The hope is that green hydrogen production will scale up — surplus renewable energy would be stored as hydrogen, which is still very expensive today. No one says it out loud, but it could also help free us from China's near-monopoly on battery production and materials. If we had an alternative vehicle type that doesn't rely on batteries, that would be a big win and green hydrogen doesn't have to be made in China. Any country can produce it at home," said Autoleht editor-in-chief Tarmo Tähepõld.

Currently, public tenders are underway to build state-supported hydrogen fueling stations in Pärnu and Tartu.

"We're waiting to see the results. Once we do, we can decide how to proceed. Without subsidies, it would certainly be more difficult," said Alexela's Dianov.

"There's no point in building a hydrogen island here on our own. We have to look at what's being done across the Baltics. The EU plans to create a hydrogen corridor with a fueling station every 200 kilometers. If Estonia wants to be part of that, then we may need to push forward with development. Otherwise, we'll end up in a situation where others move ahead and we're left behind again. It's a risky decision and someone will have to take responsibility either way, whether we build or don't build. Either way, someone's going to be blamed," Tähepõld said.

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