Hydrogen is having its moment—not because of hype, but because the economics and demand finally line up. Heavy industry, shipping, and aviation are desperate for clean fuels, governments are throwing serious subsidies behind hydrogen production, and technologies that once seemed speculative are now commercially viable. For early-stage investors, this isn’t a science experiment—it’s a chance to back the picks and shovels of the next energy gold rush.
On today’s episode of Zag Talk, I’m joined by Sam Baker, who not only leads our MobilityVC fund, but has spearheaded a new collaboration with the Monaco Hydrogen Alliance to create the MH2Fund. MH2 will back promising early stage hydrogen startups, and we’re kicking things off with a new round of funding for SunGreenH2, a pioneering developer of low-cost, modular green hydrogen electrolysers.
Also on the pod: Greg and I talk Brightline bond troubles, LA’s newest rail lines and much more, while Sela stops by to update us on the UK’s newest twist to its long-running micromobility pilot.
PARTNER | Urban Fleets Are Getting an AI Teammate — Join for Early Access
SWITCH is launching its new Agentic AI platform – designed to optimize every layer of fleet operations, from demand forecasting to task automation. This is more than just analytics: it’s an intelligent agent that integrates directly into your tools, simulaing outcomes and acting on real-time data.
Now in Early Access, the program is free and already working with operators worldwide – from those managing a few dozen large vehicles to others running hundreds of thousands of micromobility units. Whether you’re in shared mobility, last-mile delivery, or car rental, if you manage urban fleets, this is your chance to help shape the future of AI for urban fleets.
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HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Oooh shiny… Lyft is teaming up with Benteler Mobility and Mobileye, with plans to deploy Holon autonomous shuttles across the TNC’s U.S. network, with an initial emphasis on trips to airports. Lyft’s been quickly playing AV catchup for the past year or so, but this is a curious use case. The company’s struggled with two passenger pooled rides, but this takes it even further down the route of DRT / micro-transit. Going to the airport is usually a time sensitive trip, are customers really going to want to wait as their AV shuttle loops around picking up fifteen passengers?
Deliverance from bondage: Brightline — the 125 MPH, privately-owned train connecting Miami with Orlando — looks to be in trouble. The company is delaying payments on $1.2 billion of bonds, as ridership shortfalls leave it with a cash crunch. If the company misses its payments, that will surely scuttle investor interest in the additional bonds it needs to sell to pull off its SoCal to Vegas route.
LA rail scale: Los Angeles’ ever-growing rail network is about to get even bigger. Metro just announced the A Line extension to Pomona will open September 19th, adding 9.1 miles to what is already the world’s longest light rail line. The old ATSF route, near the foothills of the San Gabriel mountains, links a number of colleges and quaint pre-war downtowns that often look like bits of Iowa with palm trees. Across the county, the D Line heavy rail subway extension down Wilshire Blvd — the city’s linear CBD of sorts — is officially 98% done, with an opening planned before year’s end. Wilshire Boulevard links Downtown LA, Westlake, Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire Beverly Hills, Westwood, Brentwood and Santa Monica: a mix of high-rise office districts, residential neighborhoods denser than any others west of the Acela corridor, and other major draws like hospitals, colleges and museums. To misquote the late, great Tom Petty, “It’s a long ride, living in Glendora. There’s a light rail runnin’ through the yard… All the red lines trainin’ through the basin. Move west down Wilshire Boulevard.”
Is SF a car city now? The San Francisco Standard makes a compelling argument to back its provocative headline. BART and Caltrain have had some of the worst ridership recoveries nationwide, while the region’s car traffic is above pre-Covid levels. Waymos are everywhere, voters are trying to recall the Supervisor that converted a crumbling beachside road into a park, and shoppers have shifted from downtown to suburban malls. Ouch! On the positive side, the city’s new automated traffic camera pilot does look to be nabbing some of those speeding motorists.
Duke ‘em out with data! Love regional pissing contests of the urbanist variety? Check out this interactive project that let’s you compare the density and rail coverage stats of the world’s major cities.
Can’t stop those e-trucks! Electrification is here to stay, whether we bury our heads in the sand or not. So it’s encouraging to see Nevoya come out of stealth; the LA-based startup operates an electric truck fleet on behalf of major brands, promising cost parity with diesel. The company raised $9.3M from Lowercarbon Capital and mobility industry luminaries.
More boozin’, less drivin’: Vancouver is rewriting its urbanist rules in a way that would surely make Sen. Scott Wiener swoon. The British Colombia city has extended last call at bars until 4 AM; now local leaders are working to also expand the operating hours of SkyTrain, the region’s automated rail network. Both changes should help rejuvenate downtown, which still hasn’t fully recovered from the pandemic. In other international news, rail ridership in England and Wales has overtaken its pre-Covid peak; the continued struggles of downtowns and rail networks is at this point rather uniquely North American…
KC streetcar success: Kansas City is extending its streetcar system, which will soon span six miles, with service linking Downtown to University of Missouri-Kansas City. KC’s streetcar system has been one of the best performing in the country, thanks in part to free fares, frequent service and a good amount of dedicated transit lanes (sadly the region’s bus service is not doing as well.) Many other streetcar projects from the same era have struggled with ridership, as their cities treated them more like economic development projects, as opposed to real transit. (Recall that DC is even going so far as to shut its system down.)
A very musical tunnel to nowhere? The Boring Company and the State of Tennessee announced plans to build 10 miles of car tunnels around Nashville: linking the city’s airport, convention center and other destinations. While the Musk-helmed tunnel co has managed to open its project under the Las Vegas Convention Center, it walked away from plans to build systems in places like Chicago or by the LA-Ontario Airport.
Goodnight to Kyte: Nine months after I first reported that car rental platform Kyte was in trouble, the startup has officially shut down, with my old comrades at Turo buying up the marketing assets. Carsharing ain’t easy! In happier shared vehicle news, Zipcar is deploying to O’ahu, marking its first foray into the Hawaiian islands, which are one of the most expensive places in the U.S. to operate an auto.
Never forget that public transit is safe: Don’t be afraid to get on that train, the real danger is the car barreling down the road.
The Big Apple bites back: NYCMTA officials announced that subway and bus fares would rise to $3 in January. Excepting systems with distance-based fares like BART and WMATA, this would be the most expensive ticket to ride in the country, although high fares are more common outside the U.S.
A few good links: Uber Eats adds AI-powered tools for merchants. California and Trump Admin duke it out over HSR funding. Which regions are poised to benefit from the AI boom? New data shows VCs are more likely to fund founders that they resemble. Bird debuts new hardware. A firm catering to the UK’s generous disability benefits program is gobbling up Britain’s car market. Smart loos come for America (remember sitting on that Throne at Curbivore 2025?) Wonder looks to refi half a billy of debt. Just Eat cuts jobs in Germany. Tariffs bite GM earnings. White House looks to speed up infrastructure permitting. Congestion pricing speeding up and right sizing freight in NYC. OMF readies for CDS 1.1 release. Germany okays remote operations of vehicles. Violent anti-immigrant raids batter LA’s food culture. Republicans look to prioritize freight trains over Amtrak. North Carolina deploys 2.5k Flow Labs smart traffic lights. Lion Electric bankruptcy screws over non-Quebecois school districts; man, electric busses still don’t seem ready for prime time. APTA throws support behind plan to prioritize funding for transit projects near upzoned areas.
Please note — I’ll be publishing on a reduced schedule for the next few weeks, as I take some time off over the summer. But you can still get your fix over at Modern Delivery!
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew
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