The public hydrogen refuelling station located at Hauptstraße/Giulinistraße was officially opened today.

Ludwigshafen am Rhein, 2 December 2025 | At the new hydrogen refuelling station next to the Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (rnv) depot, eight environmentally friendly eCitaro G fuel cell range-extender buses—procured by rnv under the H2Rivers funding programme—will now refuel with green hydrogen. The publicly accessible combined dispenser provides both 350-bar and 700-bar refuelling and is also used by other vehicle types, including the waste collection fuel cell truck operated by Wirtschaftsbetriebe Ludwigshafen.

The station in Ludwigshafen is the third hydrogen refuelling station jointly implemented by H2 MOBILITY and rnv. Last year already saw the opening of stations in Heidelberg-Wieblingen—located at the city’s new depot for alternative drive systems—and at the rnv depot in Mannheim. Other municipal companies and regional logistics firms also benefit from the new sites: all stations are publicly accessible and able to refuel hydrogen vehicles at both 350-bar and 700-bar pressure levels.

Federal Minister of Transport Patrick Schnieder: “Hydrogen and fuel cells are an important building block for climate-friendly mobility in the future. With around €20 million, we are supporting the HyPerformer region H2Rivers, which demonstrates in an impressive way how innovative technologies work in everyday practice. Projects like this provide crucial momentum for modern and sustainable mobility. In doing so, we are deliberately embracing technological openness — because we need all climate-friendly drive technologies to successfully advance the transformation of the transport sector.”

Dagmar Fehler, Managing Director and Spokesperson of NOW GmbH: “The opening of the new hydrogen refuelling station in Ludwigshafen sends a strong signal for Germany as a business location and for climate action. Hydrogen plays a central role in transforming the transport sector because it can complement other propulsion systems across all modes of transport in a meaningful and climate-friendly way. Future demand will be driven primarily by trucks and buses, which is why we need high-capacity, larger refuelling stations. On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Transport, NOW GmbH has been supporting the funding and market development of these technologies since 2008. With projects such as H2Rivers, we demonstrate how hydrogen—from production through to vehicle use—can be successfully put into practice. Today’s opening is another important milestone on the path towards climate-friendly mobility.”

Yunus Keskin, Lead Project Manager Alternative Powertrains, rnv: “With the new hydrogen refuelling station in Ludwigshafen, we are taking another major step towards climate-friendly public transport in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. Hydrogen allows us to combine long ranges and high operational flexibility with genuine sustainability. For rnv, this is a decisive milestone in offering our passengers environmentally responsible mobility while supporting the region’s ambitious climate targets. We are demonstrating that the future of public transport is emissions-free — and hydrogen plays a key role in this transition. We particularly welcome the use of green hydrogen, as it represents a truly climate-friendly alternative. Investing in this technology is not only technical progress, it is a clear commitment to future generations. With every new vehicle and every new hydrogen refuelling station based on green hydrogen, we significantly reduce CO2 emissions and make a tangible contribution to the energy transition. Our goal is to establish public transport as a leader in sustainable mobility and to further enhance the region’s quality of life.”

Martin Jüngel, Managing Director and CFO of H2 MOBILITY: “Together with rnv, wesuccessfully entered the world of hydrogen mobility last year in Heidelberg and Mannheim. We are proving that hydrogen refuelling works reliably and is fully suited to everyday operations. The daily refuelling of 40 buses in both cities has been highly reliable from day one. I am delighted that we are now entering day-to-day operations in Ludwigshafen as well. In the Rhine-Neckar region, each new station increases supply security for hydrogen and boosts the attractiveness of hydrogen mobility. Nowhere else in Germany is the transition to hydrogen made as straightforward as in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region—and no other region offers such a modern infrastructure combined with a completely green hydrogen supply. Across all our sites—Ludwigshafen, Frankenthal, Mannheim and Heidelberg—we will be supplying exclusively green hydrogen by next year.”

Alexander Thewalt, Department Head of Construction, Environment and Transport, City of Ludwigshafen:
“After a hydrogen refuelling station opened last year to the north of Ludwigshafen in Frankenthal, the southern part of the city is now following suit. The city and the public transport operator will become regular users with a waste collection vehicle and articulated buses. Together with H2 MOBILITY, we hope that the attractive location at the Rhine port — with its many commercial enterprises — will encourage use by vehicles from these local businesses.”

Pilot project for hydrogen mobility in the Rhine-Neckar region
How can hydrogen be produced locally, distributed efficiently and used to enable climate-friendly mobility? The H2Rivers and H2Rhein-Neckar funding projects — with a combined project volume of nearly €100 million — provide the answers. Over the past two years, a dynamic hydrogen ecosystem has emerged in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, comprising four hydrogen refuelling stations operated by H2 MOBILITY, 48 fuel cell buses and ten hydrogen-powered waste collection vehicles. The H2Rhein-Neckar and H2Rivers projects demonstrate the deployment of new hydrogen technologies and pave the way for regional value chains. The introduction of fuel cell range-extender buses in public transport also generates essential insights for municipalities and bus operators, supported by scientific monitoring.

Dr Doris Wittneben, Head of Future Fields and Innovation, Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar GmbH:
“The new hydrogen refuelling station is another key milestone for regional development in the metropolitan region. As a pilot region for the establishment of a functioning hydrogen ecosystem, we are demonstrating what innovation in the mobility sector can look like — sustainable, forward-looking and economically strong. We are pleased that, through coordinating the H2Rivers project, MRN GmbH has been able to support this success.”

H2Rivers: Hydrogen demonstration project Rhine-Neckar
H2Rivers is part of the Federal Ministry of Transport’s HyLand programme in the HyPerformer category. The project paves the way for the widespread market entry of zero-emission hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in the mobility sector within the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region and the central Neckar area. The development of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region as a hydrogen hub is supported under the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP2) as one of the winning regions of the “HyLand – Hydrogen Regions in Germany” initiative, with up to €20 million in investment grants from the Federal Ministry of Transport. The project is coordinated by Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar GmbH. The hydrogen refuelling station in Ludwigshafen am Rhein is receiving €1,284,000 in funding. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich (PtJ).

H2 MOBILITY
H2 MOBILITY is a pioneer in the development of public hydrogen refuelling infrastructure and Europe’s largest operator of hydrogen refuelling stations. Its business areas include technical development, financing, planning, construction, marketing and operation of hydrogen stations. The company is also increasingly active in the services sector, offering consulting, station construction and operations, calibration, and quality assurance. Founded in 2015 as a project company to promote hydrogen as an emission-free fuel for road transport, H2 MOBILITY transitioned in 2022 into a long-term, commercially oriented enterprise. Its mission is to contribute to the energy transition in transport through high-performance hydrogen refuelling solutions. H2 MOBILITY aims to transition fully to renewable hydrogen by 2028.

Alternative drive systems at rnv
Further information on e-buses, hydrogen fuel cells and alternative drive technologies at rnv can be found at www.rnv-online.de/alternative-antriebe.

Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar
Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar GmbH (Mannheim) was established in 2006. In addition to the Verband Region Rhein-Neckar and the Zukunft Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar e. V. association, its shareholders include the Chambers of Industry and Commerce for Rhein-Neckar, Pfalz and Darmstadt as well as the Chambers of Crafts for Mannheim and Rhein-Main. Working in cooperation with these and many other regional stakeholders, the Regional Development Corporation coordinates project work across the fields of energy, mobility, innovation, labour markets, education, healthcare, digitalisation, culture and administrative modernisation. It also plays a key role in regional marketing and communications, helping to strengthen the visibility and reputation of the Rhine-Neckar region. The MRN GmbH Future Fields and Innovation division coordinates the H2Rivers project.

Contact:
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG: Daniela Dietz, presse@h2-mobility.de
Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (rnv) GmbH: René Weintz, presse@rnv-online.de
Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar (MRN) GmbH: Wiebke Krull, wiebke.krull@m-r-n.com

Image: Copyright (c) H2 MOBILITY; from left to right:

• Martin Jüngel, Managing Director and CFO, H2 MOBILITY
• Yunus Keskin, Lead Project Manager for Alternative Powertrains, rnv
• Alexander Thewalt, Department Head of Construction, Environment and Transport, City of Ludwigshafen
• Dr Doris Wittneben, Head of Future Fields and Innovation, MRN
• Dagmar Fehler, Managing Director and Spokesperson, NOW