90% Subsidized… Bielefeld Germany’s €7 Million Hydrogen Garbage Truck Fleet Sits Idle

[rangerrebew]

90% Subsidized… Bielefeld Germany’s €7 Million Hydrogen Garbage Truck Fleet Sits Idle
By P Gosselin on 10. May 2026

Another sign that the “Green” Revolution is sinking Germany

The Energiewende (transition to green energy) is often hailed as the future of urban logistics, but a recent development in Bielefeld, Germany, serves as a sobering cautionary tale. The city has been forced to mothball its entire fleet of seven hydrogen-powered garbage trucks.



Idled garbage trucks. Illustration image only, generated by Grok AI.

Poor logistics

Blackout News reports that for years, Bielefeld’s hydrogen trucks relied on a refueling station in Rheda-Wiedenbrück. Even then, the logistics were strained; drivers had to make an 80-kilometer round trip just to fuel up. Given that these trucks have a daily range of about 300 kilometers, nearly a third of their energy was being spent just getting to the pump.

When the station in Rheda-Wiedenbrück closed, the situation turned from difficult to impossible. The next available station was in Münster—roughly 180 kilometers away for a round trip. At that distance, the trucks would consume most of their fuel just traveling to and from the station, leaving virtually no range left to actually collect trash.

Massive financial investment

https://notrickszone.com/2026/05/10/90-subsidized-bielefeld-germanys-e7-million-hydrogen-garbage-truck-fleet-sits-idle/

[Free Vulcan]

I've never understood the orgasmic rapture of liberal activists and bureaucrats toward hydrogen. It's a low BTU fuel that isn't just laying in large pools 6 inches below the surface. It would have to be radically cheaper for the $/BTU to compete with say gasoline.

[DefiantMassRINO]

Krauts used to be good at math.