Mannheim, 15 October 2024 | The opening of the public hydrogen refuelling station in Mannheim took place today in the presence of Martin Eggstein, Ministerial Director and Head of the Energy Industry Department at the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Environment, and Christian Specht, Mayor of the City of Mannheim and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (rnv).
The new hydrogen refuelling station at the rnv depot on Schlachthofstraße is now open to the public and for new rnv buses. The 13 H2-eCitaro buses that rnv is acquiring as part of the H2Rhein-Neckar subsidised project in Mannheim will refuel with hydrogen here. Trucks can also refuel at 350 bar at a combined fuel pump, as can refuse collectors, including those from Stadtraumservice Mannheim, as well as small commercial vehicles and hydrogen cars at 700 bar.
‘The expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure in Baden-Württemberg is necessary in order to make heavy vehicles with alternative non-fossil drive systems usable in everyday practice. The state-funded H2Rhein-Neckar project shows how the transition can be tackled at municipal level in public transport. This will directly reduce emissions,’ explains Martin Eggstein, Ministerial Director and Head of the Energy Industry Department at the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Environment.
‘The new hydrogen refuelling station at the rnv depot in Mannheim is another important part of the regional hydrogen infrastructure. Together with the H2 buses, the H2 waste collection vehicles of the city of Mannheim, private passenger cars can also refuel here in the public area. The refuelling station is therefore a further step towards climate neutrality,’ explains Christian Specht, Mayor of the City of Mannheim and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (rnv). ‘To achieve this, it is important that we tackle issues such as the energy transition, decarbonisation and the development of a climate-neutral and efficient economy in a regionally networked manner. The cooperation projects at the level of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, such as H2Rhein-Neckar and H2Rivers, are therefore key to making Mannheim and the region fit for the future and independent of fossil fuels.’
Mannheim’s Mayor Christian Specht refuelling with hydrogen (c) H2 MOBILITY, Max Jackwerth
H2 MOBILITY is responsible for the construction and operation of the refuelling station. The company opened a hydrogen refuelling station in Heidelberg at the new rnv depot for alternative drive systems back in April. Together with rnv, a further refuelling station will be built in Ludwighafen by next year. The new rnv bus fleet with a total of 48 H2-eCitaro buses will refuel with hydrogen at the AFIR-compliant sites in Heidelberg, Mannheim and Ludwigshafen.
‘We are delighted that we can now also send buses with hydrogen fuel cells on routes in our Mannheim transport area,’ explains Martin in der Beek, Technical Managing Director of rnv. ‘The initial experience we have gained in Heidelberg over the last few months confirms that these vehicles are an ideal addition to our regular e-buses and are particularly advantageous on demanding, longer routes. As we want to convert our entire bus fleet to locally emission-free drives by 2032, we need this mix of technologies and vehicles.’
Municipal companies and neighbouring logistics firms also benefit from the new locations: all filling stations are open to the public and can refuel hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles at a pressure level of 350 and 700 bar.
Martin Jüngel, Managing Director and CFO of H2 MOBILITY: ‘In the Rhine-Neckar region, the availability of hydrogen and the attractiveness of hydrogen in mobility increases with every new refuelling station that opens. In the region, hydrogen is already being used in public transport and by municipal companies. Buses and refuse collection vehicles are in regular operation and show that hydrogen has become an integral part of everyday operations. In the Rhine-Neckar region, it is particularly attractive to start using H2 mobility. The existing public H2 infrastructure can easily be utilised.’
The refuelling station is not only ideally located to optimally supply the new, climate-friendly bus fleet of rnv in Mannheim, it is also not far from the Mannheim motorway junction (A6) and is therefore attractive for logistics traffic. The refuelling station is a key part of the H2Rhein-Neckar project funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg, which, together with the H2Rivers federal funding project, is transforming the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region into one of the largest showcases for hydrogen technology. In addition to hydrogen production, the projects focus on the use of hydrogen in public transport and heavy goods transport.
Pilot project for hydrogen mobility in the Rhine-Neckar region
A hydrogen ecosystem is being created in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region with one of the largest demonstration projects for H2 mobility in south-west Germany: the H2Rhein-Neckar and H2Rivers projects are trialling the use of new hydrogen technologies and providing new insights for the development of a regional value chain.
‘These pioneering projects show the challenges and opportunities that the use of hydrogen brings in practice. Accompanying scientific research is analysing the impact of new drive systems on public transport operations. Other local authorities and public transport operators can also benefit from this. The big challenge is to develop infrastructure and H2 applications at the same time,’ adds Isabell Knüttgen, Head of Hydrogen Technologies at the state agency e-mobil BW, consortium leader in the H2Rhein-Neckar project.
(c) H2 MOBILITY, Max Jackwerth
Pioneer in Europe: H2 MOBILITY station network
H2 MOBILITY currently operates around 80 public hydrogen refuelling stations at 700 bar. Refuelling at 350 bar is possible for trucks and buses at 35 stations. The network is being developed along the TEN-T corridors, among others, and is demand-orientated. Other H2 MOBILITY hydrogen refuelling stations in the region, which have both 350 bar and 700 bar, are located in Frankenthal and Heidelberg. From summer 2025, passenger cars, waste collectors, light commercial vehicles, trucks and buses will also be able to refuel with hydrogen in Ludwigshafen.
About H2Rhine-Neckar and H2Rivers
How can hydrogen be produced and distributed locally and used for climate-friendly mobility? This is demonstrated by the H2Rivers and H2Rhine-Neckar funding projects, with a project volume of almost €100 million. Hydrogen is produced and distributed by the H2 Hub in Mannheim and hy.waiblingen and then used in fuel cell waste collection vehicles and fuel cell cars, among other things. The conversion of public transport to fuel cell range extender buses also provides important findings for local authorities and bus operators, scientifically analysed in accompanying research. The H2Rhein-Neckar project is being funded with €16.7 million by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector and coordinated by the state agency e-mobil BW. H2Rivers is funded with €20 million by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs and coordinated by Metropolregion RheinNeckar GmbH. Further information can be found at www.h2rivers.de.
H2 MOBILITY
H2 MOBILITY 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 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 has set itself the goal of switching completely to renewable hydrogen by 2028.
Alternative drives at rnv
Further information on e-buses, hydrogen fuel cells and alternative drives at rnv can be found at www.rnv-online.de/alternative-antriebe.
Contact:
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KH: Daniela Dietz,
presse@h2-mobility.de
Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH: Moritz Feier, presse@rnv-online.de
e-mobil BW: Laura Blaschke, laura.blaschke@e-mobilbw.de
First image: Copyright (c) H2 MOBILITY, Max Jackwerth; from left to right
- Alexander Thewalt, Councillor, Department of Construction, Environment and Transport, WBL, City of Ludwigshafen
- Christian Specht, Mayor of the City of Mannheim and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (rnv)
- Martin Jüngel, Managing Director & CFO, H2 MOBILITY
- Martin in der Beek, Technical Managing Director, rnv
- Isabell Knüttgen, Head of Hydrogen Technologies, e-mobil BW
- Martin Eggstein, Ministerial Director and Head of the Energy Industry Department at the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Environment
- Christian Volz, Commercial Managing Director, rnv
- Mirko Sgodda, Head of Marketing, Sales und Customer Services, Daimler Buses
- Thomas Balmer, Member of the Board, Karlsruhe District, Association of Baden-Württemberg Bus Companies (WBO), Managing Director of Wöhrle Reisen
- Lutz Tesmer, Project Engineer, ENGINIUS