I agree with you that betting against lithium is dumb. The ceiling is probably a lot higher yet.

I forget the rationale for why Toyota (and by extension Japan) bet on hydrogen. Probably something to do with access to resources. Constraints that apply to many economies.

We simply have to get off fossil fuels. Zero carbon will involve hydrogen. Maybe not personal transportation. But definitely agriculture. And maybe manufacturing, heavy transportation.

At some point we'll have excess electricity. Using that to produce methane (carbon capture) and ammonia (replace fossil fuels) has to happen. Then we'll have abundant cheap hydrogen.

Maybe not solid hydrogen fuel cells. Maybe ammonia is practical enough. Optimistic me knows someone(s) will do something useful.