Frankenthal, 08.05.2024 | H2 MOBILITY Deutschland and BASF are jointly investing in the construction of an H2 refuelling station in Frankenthal. With the delivery of important core components, a milestone has been reached on the way to completing the plant. In the presence of Frankenthal’s Lord Mayor Dr Nicolas Meyer, the project partners have now presented the construction progress of the new H2 refuelling station in Frankenthal. Commissioning is planned for the fourth quarter of 2024.
A public hydrogen refuelling station is being built next to the BASF site in Frankenthal. In future, cars and light commercial vehicles (700 bar) as well as trucks and buses (350 bar) will be able to refuel here. The centrepiece of the refuelling station is the compressor and two medium and high-pressure storage tanks, which were delivered this week. Until the planned opening at the end of 2024, the technical components of the facility will be prepared for public use in a commissioning process lasting several months, including refuelling tests.
‘The construction of the hydrogen refuelling station in Frankenthal is an important milestone in the mobility and climate transition for our city. I am delighted that this project will also make the hydrogen refuelling station available to the citizens of Frankenthal and the surrounding area. This hydrogen refuelling station is also an essential pin on the logistics map for our business location,’ says Lord Mayor of Frankenthal Dr Nicolas Meyer.
High-capacity H2 refuelling station in Rhineland-Palatinate
A daily capacity of 700 to 800 kilograms of hydrogen is planned for the first expansion stage, which corresponds to more than 30 trucks or buses. H2 MOBILITY, the builder and operator of the refuelling station, plans to double the capacity in a second expansion phase by 2027. ‘Demand for heavy goods transport will also increase significantly in this region. That’s why we are building new sites like the one in Frankenthal a lot bigger than a few years ago. In future, up to three vehicles will be able to refuel here at the same time, including buses and trucks at 350 bar and light commercial vehicles and cars at 700 bar. We are delighted that a state-of-the-art, high-performance refuelling station of this size will soon be in operation in Rhineland-Palatinate,’ says Martin Jüngel, Managing Director and CFO of H2 MOBILITY Deutschland.
BASF will invest proportionately in the planned 350-bar module as part of the project. The company’s aim is to help initiate a cross-sector hydrogen economy in the region. ‘CO2-free hydrogen is an integral part of our energy transformation at the Ludwigshafen site,’ emphasises Tilmann Hezel, Senior Vice President Infrastructure at BASF’s Ludwigshafen site. ‘At the same time, hydrogen and a sufficient H2 infrastructure are fundamental for a shift towards alternative drive systems. We want to utilise this intersection: With projects such as the H2 refuelling station, but also the water electrolyser currently under construction, we want to support regional mobility as well as our suppliers and transport companies at the site in switching to vehicles with fuel cell drives.’
Thanks to its location on the A6 motorway via the Ludwigshafen Nord junction, the refuelling station is strategically located and easily accessible for logistics traffic in Rhineland-Palatinate and the transnational region. The refuelling station also provides important redundancy for the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, where three more H2 MOBILITY refuelling stations of a similar size and capacity will be built by 2026.
Dr Doris Wittneben, Head of Future Fields and Innovation at Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar GmbH: ‘We are delighted that the hydrogen refuelling station in Frankenthal is another important milestone in the hydrogen ecosystem in the Rhine-Neckar region. The Frankenthal hydrogen refuelling station is part of the H2Rivers project, which the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region is coordinating as part of the German government’s HYLAND funding framework. From the production of climate-friendly hydrogen using renewable energies, to a new refuelling station infrastructure, to the use of fuel cell technology in public and municipal vehicles, the market maturity of hydrogen as an energy source will be demonstrated.’
H2Rivers: Rhine-Neckar hydrogen demonstration project
The H2Rivers project is paving the way for the nationwide market entry of emission-free hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in the mobility sector in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region and the central Neckar region. The development of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region as a hydrogen region is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure with €20 million in investment grants as part of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP2). The hydrogen refuelling station in Frankenthal will receive €1,288,000 in funding for its part. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich (PtJ).
Pioneer in Europe: H2 MOBILITY station network
Cars and small commercial vehicles, including industrial trucks and waste collectors, can currently refuel with 700 bar at over 80 public H2 MOBILITY hydrogen refuelling stations. Four more 700-bar refuelling stations are currently being planned, built or commissioned. Refuelling at 350 bar is possible for trucks and buses at 27 stations. 15 further refuelling options for 350 bar are currently being implemented. The network is being developed along the TEN-T corridors, among others, and is always demand-orientated.
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland is a pioneer in the development of a public hydrogen refuelling station network and Europe’s largest operator of public hydrogen stations. Its business areas include the technical development, financing, planning, construction, marketing and operation of the stations. H2 MOBILITY Deutschland was founded in 2015 as a project company with the aim of promoting hydrogen as an emission-free fuel in road transport. In 2022, the project company became a long-term, commercially oriented company with the aim of contributing to the energy transition in transport through a high-performance hydrogen refuelling station network. H2 MOBILITY Deutschland has set itself the goal of switching completely to renewable hydrogen by 2028. Further information at www.h2-mobility.de/en.
BASF
Chemistry for a sustainable future – that is what BASF stands for. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 112,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF achieved global sales of €68.9 billion in 2023. BASF shares are traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the USA. Further information at www.basf.com.
Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar
Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar GmbH (Mannheim) was founded in 2006. In addition to the Rhine-Neckar Region Association and the Zukunft Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar e. V. association, its shareholders are the Rhine-Neckar, Palatinate and Darmstadt Chambers of Industry and Commerce as well as the Mannheim and Rhine-Main Chambers of Crafts. In cooperation with these and many other stakeholders, the regional development company coordinates project work in the areas of energy, mobility, innovation promotion, the labour market, education, health, digitalisation, culture and administrative simplification. In addition, Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar GmbH makes an important contribution to positioning and publicising Rhine-Neckar through location marketing and public relations work. The MRN GmbH’s Future Fields and Innovation department coordinates the H2Rivers project (h2rivers.de).
Image: Copyright: from left to right:
– Philip Kröger, Project Manager, H2 MOBILTY
– Martin Jüngel, Managing Director & CFO, H2 MOBILITY
– Tilmann Hezel, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure, BASF Site Ludwigshafen
– Dr. Nicolas Meyer, Lord Mayor Frankenthal
– Dennis Fanelsa, Senior Vice President, Site Management, BASF Site Ludwigshafen
– Stefan Rößler, Project Coordinator Future Fields & Innovations, Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar
Contact:
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG: Daniela Dietz, Head of Communications presse@h2-mobility.de
Further information at www.h2-mobility.de/en.
BASF SE : Florian Fabian, External Site Communications, florian.fabian@basf.com
Mobile: +49 172 751 99 34
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