Michael Barnard’s TFIE Strategy Briefing

Michael Barnard’s TFIE Strategy Briefing

Home

Transit Procurement Reality

£30,000 For A Used £556,000 Hydrogen Bus — And First Bus Is Still Hedging
First Bus is buying Aberdeen’s failed hydrogen buses cheaply enough to make conversion an experiment, not a commitment.
 • Michael Barnard
Electric Freight Rail Works. America’s Rail Lobby Costed It To Fail.
The Association of American Railroads priced near-total catenary, left key alternatives and savings out, then sold the result as a verdict.
 • Michael Barnard
Transit Data and Trajectory aren’t the Problem. CUTRIC’S Analysis Is.
CUTRIC should choose between commercialization and independent evidence. Transit agencies and CUTRIC’s members have choices of their own, and they do…
 • Michael Barnard
What Drove The Hydrogen Madness? The Detour Was Avoidable
The problems were known long before the latest hype cycle.
 • Michael Barnard
Hydrogen Has Narrative Density. Electrification Has Deployment Density.
Media and PR make hydrogen look far more prevalent and commercially mature than the physical economy says it is.
 • Michael Barnard
My Technology Warnings Could Have Saved Investors About $100 Billion
Across a conservative set of hydrogen, eVTOL and SMR stocks, about $95B of $119B in exposed value was erased. Adding X-energy takes the tally to roughly…
 • Michael Barnard
Hydrogen Gets The Headlines. Batteries Charge The Ships.
GeoPura’s floating hydrogen charger turns one demonstration into a maritime story. The scalable system emerging behind it is much less photogenic…
 • Michael Barnard
Poland Subsidized Hydrogen Demand. Polenergia Still Couldn’t Make Supply Work.
Poland created hydrogen demand. The supply case still failed.
 • Michael Barnard
OCTA’s Hydrogen Bus Expansion Is Really A Fuel-Supply Bet
OCTA’s six-year-old hydrogen station became unusable after a supplier deal failed, exposing the recurring challenge of affordable, green fuel at the…
 • Michael Barnard
China’s Electric Bus Market Is Already In Replacement Mode
Urban buses are effectively 100% of new sales, while cars, heavy trucks and coaches show why transport electrification follows use cases, no
 • Michael Barnard
Hydrogen Trains Have Headlines. Battery Trains Have Higher Utilization.
A global fleet audit finds battery-electric passenger trains are generally used more, while direct technical-availability data remain frustratingly…
 • Michael Barnard
Europe Is Paying Twice For 700-Bar Hydrogen Refuelling
The passenger-car network is closing, but AFIR rules and grants are rebuilding the same high-pressure capability inside its replacement.
 • Michael Barnard
© 2026 Michael Barnard · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture