Meerane, 12 November 2020 | Drivers of fuel-cell vehicles can refuel at an ever-increasing number of filling stations: H2 MOBILITY Deutschland and its partners Shell and Linde have jointly opened the first hydrogen (H2) station in Meerane in the Zwickau district of Saxony. FES GmbH Fahrzeug-Entwicklung Sachsen significantly contributed to the construction of this station. A trial operation lasting several weeks has just been successfully completed.
The network of hydrogen filling stations is ever expanding. In Germany there are already 86 H2 filling stations, 34 of them at Shell locations. The expansion will be continued according to demand and is focused on the Rhine/Ruhr and Rhine/Main metropolitan regions, as well as Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, and the key connecting roads.
Third station in Saxony
The German state of Saxony already has H2 filling stations in Dresden and Leipzig. The new location in Meerane at the Shell filling station at Äußere Crimmitschauer Str. 125 is conveniently located on the A4 and B93, connecting Dresden and Erfurt as well as Leipzig and the Nuremberg region.
Hydrogen is used to power fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV). Its advantages: no noise or pollutants, but the same use, speed, and range as cars with petrol or diesel engines. FCEVs have ranges of 500 to 700 kilometres and can refuel in just three to five minutes.
The new hydrogen station is equipped with a 400 kg storage tank for liquefied hydrogen and the ‘cryo pump’ technology developed by Linde. Its operation is intuitive for drivers; refuelling is similar to that of conventional vehicles.
Hydrogen offers a climate-friendly way to expand the range of fuels available in the transport sector, because hydrogen, especially when produced with renewable energy, can significantly reduce climate-damaging CO2 emissions.
An initial, larger hydrogen car fleet in the region is already operated by the vehicle developer FES GmbH Sachsen. The new public filling station enables the company to refuel its FCEV during the development and testing stages, as well as in everyday operation. This strengthens FES GmbH’s position as a leading development service provider for the system integration of fuel-cell drives in vehicles.
The station in Meerane is part of the Hydrogen Mobility Europe project, which is funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH 2 JU, Grant Agreement No. 671438). FCH JU is supported by the European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (Horizon 2020), Hydrogen Europe, and the Hydrogen Europe Research Association.
20201112_Start Wasserstoff-Tankstelle Meerane Nov 2020
About H2 MOBILITY
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG is responsible for establishing a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure to supply cars with fuel-cell propulsion in Germany.. The first target is to operate 100 hydrogen stations in seven German metropolitan areas (Hamburg, Berlin, Rhine-Ruhr, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Munich) as well as along connecting motorways and highways. At all stations, cars and light commercial vehicles (vans) can refuel with up to 5 kg (in some cases up to 8 kg) of hydrogen at 700 bar.
From 2021 on, more stations will be built wherever there is a demand for commercial vehicles and a public filling station makes sense for a growing network of filling stations for cars. H2 MOBILITY handles all the tasks – planning, construction, operation and marketing – that are necessary for successfully expanding and operating the network.
H2 MOBILITY’s shareholders are Air Liquide, Daimler, Linde, OMV, Shell, and TOTAL, with BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen as well as NOW GmbH National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology serving H2 MOBILITY in an advisory capacity as associated partners.
For more information: h2-mobility.de
PRESS ENQUIRIES:
Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH
Axel Pommeränke, +49 (0) 40 63245290, axel.pommeraenke@shell.com
Linde AG
Thomas Schaefer, +49 (0) 89 7446-2464, thomas.kurt.schaefer@linde.com
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Sybille Riepe, +49 (0) 170 5870317, riepe@h2-mobility.de