- Capacity to refuel up to 40 vehicles per day
- Facility for filling up hydrogen buses pre-installed
- EU funding within the scope of the Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME) project
With today’s launch of the 50th public hydrogen service station, partners H2 MOBILITY, Linde and TOTAL celebrated an important stage in the development of hydrogen mobility in Germany. In the presence of representatives of the European Union’s Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), the German federal government, the government of the federal state of Brandenburg and the city of Potsdam, the station in Horstweg in the southeast of Potsdam was ceremoniously inaugurated. Alongside a 700-bar pump for cars, a facility for an optional 350-bar pump for filling up buses has been preliminarily installed at the station.
The technology for the new hydrogen facility at the TOTAL service station in Potsdam is produced by Linde and has the capacity for refueling up to 40 vehicles per day. The facility is owned and operated by H2 MOBILITY, a joint venture formed by the companies Air Liquide, Daimler, Linde, OMV, Shell, and TOTAL. The partners’ primary goal is to operate 100 stations in seven German metropolitan areas (Hamburg, Berlin, Rhine-Ruhr, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Munich) and along motorways and highways by 2019. Another 300 hydrogen fuelling stations will follow as the vehicle numbers are ramped up.
For the establishment of the hydrogen station in Potsdam, H2 MOBILITY has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH 2 JU) under grant agreement No 671438. The Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe research.
H2 MOBILITY is part of the FCH JU-funded Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME), a flagship project bringing together Europe’s leading initiatives in hydrogen mobility — in Germany, France, the UK and Scandinavia. Through H2ME, FCH JU is supporting the roll-out of a large scale hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, aimed at enabling Europe-wide emission-free driving.
In the past years, the development of Germany’s H2 network had advanced significantly thanks to the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), an association of industrial representatives of diverse sectors funded by the German government within the scope of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel-cell Technology (NIP). Within the framework of the NOW GmbH, the federal government is also an associated partner of H2 MOBILITY.
E-Mobility with Hydrogen Lowers CO2-Emissions
Eco-friendly electromobility using hydrogen causes no local pollutants or CO2 emissions and, thanks to short refuelling times and long ranges, offers a high level of driving convenience. Fuel- cell vehicles can be refuelled in under five minutes with enough fuel for a reach of up to 800 kilometres. Compared to battery-powered cars, hydrogen vehicles generate their own electricity on board by a reacting of hydrogen with air in the fuel cell, which generates the power needed to propel the car.
Good headway is being made in the development of the H2 infrastructure in Germany. Over the past few days, further stations have been completed in Dresden, Hasbergen and Ratingen. More service stations are currently under construction and/or at the planning stage, e.g. in Leipzig, Hamburg, Magdeburg, and Erfurt.
Bart Biebuyck, Director of the FCH JU:
”The opening of the 50th hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) in Germany demonstrates Germany’s leading role in the deployment of hydrogen infrastructure in Europe. Thanks to the successful cooperation between H2 MOBILITY Deutschland and FCH JU’s flagship project, Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME), the EU contributes to this fast-paced roll-out of hydrogen stations in Germany. Learnings from H2ME will be used to accelerate the HRS infrastructure deployment in other parts of Europe as well.”
Dr. Klaus Bonhoff, CEO NOW GmbH:
“With each additional hydrogen filling station, we are moving a step closer to the goal of clean mobility. In order to achieve the climate targets, the transport sector must focus on electric mobility and drive systems as well as electricity-based fuels. Mobility with hydrogen plays a pivotal role in this regard and over the past few years the German government has invested heavily in this area with the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP). Today we can see how successful this has been.”
Kathrin Schneider, Minister of Transport of the State of Brandenburg:
“An important goal of our mobility strategy is the further development and testing of alternative drives. However, new mobility technologies can only succeed if the right infrastructure is in place. With the opening of the new service station, we have made considerable progress today.”
Jann Jakobs, Mayor of Potsdam:
“As of today, Potsdam is part of the German map of hydrogen mobility – and is thus taking a major step towards an emission-free mobility of the future.“
Bruno Daude-Lagrave, CEO TOTAL Deutschland GmbH:
“TOTAL has been a pioneer in the development of hydrogen mobility in Germany since 2002. In this context, we work very closely with partners from industry and politics and, with the opening of the 50th public hydrogen station, jointly attained a significant milestone on the road to a nationwide H2 infrastructure in Germany. The station in Potsdam is the 18th within the network of TOTAL and an important element for further hydrogen projects in the region. Owing to its location close to the highway, the station completes the nationwide network for the market launch of fuel cell vehicles and moreover gives the perspective for the development of a bus fleet in Potsdam. With further projects at TOTAL stations in Dresden, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Erfurt and Neuruppin, we will soon be facilitating the use of hydrogen-powered electromobility in all of Eastern Germany.”
Jens Waldeck, Linde Gas, Head of Region Central Europe:
“Most H2 MOBILITY hydrogen service stations already use Linde technology. We are proud to have been able to equip the 50th with our proven IC90 technology – especially as, being one of the world’s largest manufacturers in this field, we have been pioneering in the use of hydrogen as an industrial gas in a wide range of applications for more than a hundred years. In 2004, we opened the first public hydrogen service station in Germany and are therefore a founding member and shareholder of H2 MOBILITY with conviction.”
Nikolas Iwan, CEO H2 MOBILITY:
“We are pleased to welcome more and more hydrogen customers who desire electromobility without restrictions. Because only hydrogen offers dynamic and clean driving with customary reaches and refueling times under 5 minutes. The hydrogen service station network is growing rapidly. Every two weeks we are opening a new station; the number of green dots on our map at www.h2.live will be growing fast over the next few months. This is also possible thanks to the EU funding us, as it does here in Potsdam. Anyone who wishes, can follow our progress via our app H2.LIVE.”
PRESS CONTACTS:
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Sybille Riepe, +49 (0)170 58 70 317, riepe@h2-mobility.de
TOTAL Deutschland GmbH
Annika Schön, +49 (0)30 20 27 62 31, annika.schoen@total.de