𝗛𝘆𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 – 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend an insightful day at the Forecourt Trader Summit at The Belfry—always a great chance to engage with industry leaders and understand the real-world needs of fuel retailers. I was there to talk about hydrogen for fifteen minutes—and listen for the rest.

Forecourts are evolving rapidly, balancing competing priorities to make every square inch add value. Some of the big groups are leaning into fast food and coffee partnerships with major brands, while independent operators are curating premium retail experiences—with bakeries and butchers on-site. In many rural areas, the forecourt shop is the only local store, reinforcing its role as a community hub. Forecourts are certainly about a lot more than fuel these days, and operators are always looking for the next way to generate revenue.

In my session, I explained how Element 2’s model gives forecourt operators a risk-free route into hydrogen. We own and operate the infrastructure, pay rent, and allow them to future-proof their sites without upfront investment. The response? A lot of enthusiasm for our favourite small molecule.

Key industry insights:
✅ Hydrogen is replacing LNG as the preferred zero-emission future fuel.
✅ Scepticism remains over EVs hitting 50% of vehicles on the road by 2035.
✅ HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) barely featured in discussions.
✅ Hydrogen adoption starts with HGVs and LCVs first, before scaling to passenger cars.

And from Lumina Intelligence , an intriguing stat: a third of consumers would consider a hydrogen car—if the infrastructure is there, which is pretty much the same as those considering a BEV.

Oh, and when it comes to the perfect forecourt experience? The essentials remain: cheap fuel, good coffee, and… microwavable burgers.