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Comment by okket | Hacker News Reader

Maybe this has something to do with the new Chinese owners? Maybe they see the future differently? And also, maybe, these owners have a somewhat privileged access to the largest battery production in the world?

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Not wrong, but the reasoning is off. China has basically mandated from the top a huge push in electric vehicles. This hmeans everyone has to ramp up on their tech. Toyota was for example hugely caught off guard because they were betting on hydrogen. Geely and other Chinese companies are quicker to receive these signals.

why not both? hydrogen cells seems to me as a great tech with a lot of potential.

They can be used in situations where electrical chargers are not avaiable.

Hydrogen fuel cells are essentially just a really complicated battery. The technology undoubtedly has uses, but powering automobiles seems a poor choice. 30 years ago, it probably seemed more reasonable to transition the gasoline shipping-and-pumping power delivery to hydrogen, but the primary benefit is just the zero-emission aspect (at the car itself at least). But today, chemical battery tech has progressed to the point that it's on the edge of full practicality, and hydrogen isn't really any closer to reality than in was in the 90s.

Yes. From what I've read, the e-Drive powertrain has been in the works for a while, and Geely's investment is allowing Volvo to bring it to production.

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