Angelo Kafantaris is an old-school car guy. He’s the founder and CEO of Hyperion Motors, makers of the world’s first 1,000-mile alternative-fuel vehicle, the XP-1. Unlike most other alternative fuel vehicles on the market, the XP-1 taps into the growing interest in green hydrogen and uses hydrogen fuel cells to power its prototype.

Kafantaris — who grew up fixing cars with his father and who has a deep and abiding love for Detroit — is unapologetic about his fascination with legacy automobiles. 

“In the U.S., we have an anthropomorphized relationship with cars,” he says. “There are masculine cars. There are feminine cars. We talk about cars making noises, having smells and giving off vibrations. To me, it’s the ultimate product.”

In the last few decades, Kafantaris said, the automotive industry has lost its way. Though electric vehicles are arguably better for the environment, they’ve sacrificed the elements that traditional car lovers enjoy — the noise, the vibration, the sense of power. Outside of quick acceleration and the ability to move people from place to place, electric vehicles have nothing to do with the power and verve of a gas-powered car. “EVs are almost soulless to true car people,” Kafantaris says.

In response to the perceived soullessness of electric vehicles, Kafantaris founded Hyperion in 2011 in Columbus, Ohio. The company relocated to California in 2015 to take advantage of California’s growing investment in hydrogen infrastructure for personal vehicles, and Hyperion unveiled the XP-1 in 2020. Several of Hyperion’s investors are based in Naples, said Edison Awards’ Executive Director Frank Bonafilia. This year, the company was a finalist at the Fort Myers-based Edison Awards, which honors excellence in innovation.

Kafantaris has a background in mechanical engineering and industrial design — including a stint at Mattel, where he worked on the Hot Wheels line — and he brings an appreciation for both form and function to his design process. “To create a truly remarkable product, the end result needs to not only work beautifully but be aesthetically pleasing, as well,” he says. “This means touch and feel, as well as viewer interface.”

The XP-1’s striking design features a carbon fiber titanium chassis, adjustable solar air blade, high-voltage fuel cells, axial flux motors and a two-ring exhaust that produces a blue-flame effect. Kafantaris calls it “the perfect compromise between zero emissions and automotive traditions.” It has all the components that make cars exciting to people, both aesthetically and mechanically. Plus, he said, it feels like a spaceship.

Kafantaris acknowledges that the United States has a ways to go before it reaches zero emissions, but Hyperion is doing its part to move the nation one step closer to a green hydrogen economy. He refers to the XP-1 as a lightning strike: a brilliant, captivating piece of machinery meant to tease the imagination and bring traditional car lovers to the world of alternative fuels. “We have everything that an electric car offers without — pardon my French — the boringness.”

The Growing Hydrogen Economy

According to a 2023 report released by Deloitte, the global value of the green hydrogen market is expected to reach $1.4 trillion by 2050. The same report predicts the hydrogen industry will support 2 million jobs around the world each year between 2030 and 2050. This will lead to a significant reduction in cumulative carbon emissions — 85 gigatons, according to the report, which is more than twice the amount of global CO2 emissions produced in 2021. But this forward-looking green hydrogen economy comes at a steep cost. Deloitte estimates that more than $9 trillion of investment is needed in the global hydrogen supply chain to achieve these results. Of that $9 trillion, $3.1 trillion would need to go to developing economies.

Too Good to be True?

Advocates tout the benefits of green hydrogen for both the economy and the environment, but is the United States ready for hydrogen as a fuel source for personal vehicles? Not yet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Though the Energy Policy Act of 1992 classifies hydrogen as an alternative fuel, hydrogen fuel cells are currently too costly to appeal to most consumers. Plus, key infrastructure is lacking. The administration says the United States only has about 60 fueling stations for hydrogen vehicles, and all of those are in California. And though California is leading the way in increasing accessibility, hydrogen fuel for a mass audience is still decades away.