The production of lithium batteries is actually not all that clean an operation. Specifically the mining of lithium and the global logistics of transporting these raw materials. Then when the battery is is kicked you still have this big box of chemicals welded into the body of a vehicle you have to figure out how to dispose of. In many cases that means disposing of the entire vehicle even if it would otherwise have a usable life. Then you still have the input of electricity to charge the batteries.
If we went with hydrogen we would have to scale up local production and compression facilities. But once that's done your inputs are electricity and water, both of which you have and can produce cleanly locally. Charging batteries will use less electricity but I still think electricity plus water is easier than electricity plus lithium. Since it's being produced locally it can be made "just in time" and scaled to market conditions relatively easily, and since it won't be in the bottle long you won't lose the same volume you would in long distance transportation or long-term storage.
A compressed gas tank is inexpensive to manufacture can be swapped out for another tank of approximately equal value in seconds. They take the empty tank they give you a full tank and you're back on the road. The exhaust is warm air and moisture, and when a compressed tank has reached the end of its serviceable life it's as simple as recycling scrap steel to dispose of it.
TLDR: The raw materials are simpler, cleaner, more abundant, and cheaper. Refueling is faster. End of life/recycling is much simpler, quicker, cleaner, and cheaper.