Berlin, 6 August 2024 | By the end of the year, buses and trucks will be able to refuel at 350 bar at more than 50 locations in the H2 MOBILITY station network. Since 2021, the company has been investing in the expansion of existing refuelling stations and the construction of new H2 stations where both cars and light commercial vehicles (700 bar) and heavy commercial vehicles (350 bar) can refuel. The aim of network development is to focus on two important future markets.
More than 100 hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks and buses, which are already in practical use for logistics and transport companies, refuel at H2 MOBILITY stations throughout Germany. The company’s network of refuelling stations for logistics and public transport will continue to grow in the future to make it easier for road-based freight and passenger transport to switch to hydrogen.
H2 MOBILITY has been focusing on converting suitable existing refuelling stations for a good three years. “We are retrofitting existing refuelling stations throughout Germany for use by trucks and buses where local conditions allow. This enables us to expand the capacity of existing sites that were originally designed for cars and increase their relevance. This year alone, 18 additional 350-bar dispensing points have already been installed at existing facilities, including in Hamburg, Heidelberg-Kirchheim, Dresden and Berg bei Hof, for example,” says Frank Fronzke, Managing Director and COO of H2 MOBILITY.
For the conversion at existing locations, a 350-bar dispenser will be added to the existing pumps. In some cases, the hydrogen storage capacities are also being expanded. So far, 32 H2 MOBILITY locations have been successfully converted for refuelling trucks and buses. By the end of December, the H2 MOBILITY station network will offer 53 350-bar refuelling points.
Network development with new generation of refuelling stations for trucks & buses
In addition to existing refuelling stations, H2 MOBILITY is also focusing on the construction of new, larger refuelling stations. Over the next six months, three new locations with 350- and 700-bar refueling facilities will open in Frankenthal (Rhineland-Palatinate), Mannheim (Baden-Württemberg) and Düsseldorf (North Rhine-Westphalia). In April 2024, a refuelling station of the new generation opened in Heidelberg. The new generation of refuelling stations features more pumps (350 and 700 bar), larger quantities of hydrogen supplied via a trailer system and significantly more powerful technology, some of which was specially developed for and by H2 MOBILITY.
“We have been operating and building public hydrogen refuelling stations since 2015 and now offer the largest network in Europe with over 400,000 successful refuellings,” says Fronzke. “The expertise we have gained in the development and operation of hydrogen refuelling stations is now being used as widely as possible to advance the transformation in transport, including logistics and public transport.”
To achieve the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement, mobility must be climate-neutral by 2045 despite electricity grid limitations. Hydrogen offers grid-independent storage and transportability, short refuelling times and stable ranges of around 500 km regardless of the outside temperature. “In order to achieve the transformation in transport, it is essential to exploit this potential of hydrogen,” says Frank Fronzke.
Pioneer in Europe: H2 MOBILITY station network
Currently, fuel cell vehicles can refuel at 700 bar at around 80 public H2 MOBILITY refuelling stations in Germany, including passenger cars and smaller commercial vehicles as well as refuse collectors. Four additional refuelling stations are in the planning, construction or commissioning stages. Refuelling at 350 bar is possible for buses and trucks at 32 stations. Further expansion will be demand-driven, including along the TEN-Ts. Further refuelling options for 350 bar are currently being implemented.
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 technical development, financing, planning, construction, marketing and operation of the stations. H2 MOBILITY was founded in 2015 as a project company with the task of establishing a nationwide basic network for hydrogen refuelling stations for passenger cars. The characteristics of the first generation of refuelling stations were storage capacities of max. 200 kilograms and a 700-bar dispenser on conventional filling station sites. 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. In a 2022 financing round, H2 MOBILITY was able to raise 110 million euros in capital for network development. Since then, the largest investor has been Hy24, an international fund manager for the development of the global hydrogen economy. H2 MOBILITY Deutschland has set itself the goal of converting completely to green hydrogen by 2028.
Contact:
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG: Daniela Dietz, Head of Communications presse@h2-mobility.de
Further information at www.h2-mobility.de/en.
Photo copyright: (c) H2 MOBILITY Deutschland
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