Aachen, 28 June 2019 | Drivers of fuel-cell powered vehicles can now refuel at more and more gas stations: H2 MOBILITY Deutschland and its shareholders Shell and Linde today opened the city of Aachen’s first hydrogen (H2) station. The Aachen-based e-truck manufacturer StreetScooter supported the facility – the company’s future fuel-cell vehicles will be able to refuel at the Shell filling station at Prager Ring 106.
Hydrogen is used to refuel electric vehicles with fuel cells. Their advantages: no noise, no pollutants, but the same utility, speed and range as passenger cars with petrol or diesel engines. Fuel-cell vehicles have ranges of 500 to 700 kilometres and can be refuelled in just three minutes.
The owner/developer of the new station is the joint venture H2 MOBILITY. The filling-station technology comes from the gas and technology company Linde. The decisive factor in the selection of the Shell petrol station was its convenient location at the Aachen-Zentrum exit of the BAB 4 motorway and close to the Autobahnkreuz Aachen motorway junction.
The new hydrogen station is state-of-the-art, and driver-side operation of the filling facilities is intuitive: the process is similar to refuelling conventional vehicles.
Hydrogen stations dispense the gaseous fuel at a pressure of 700 bar. The future series of StreetScooter vehicles will also likewise the 700 bar technology. This particular filling station also has a 350 bar filling point, so that StreetScooter’s developmental-stage vehicles can refuel here as well.
The facility uses Linde’s IC90 ionic compressor, which compresses gaseous hydrogen to up to 900 bar in 5 steps.
16 stations in North Rhine-Westphalia
The expansion of the corresponding filling station network continues apace. There are now 71 H2 filling stations across Germany. At the turn of the year 2019/20 there will be 100 stations, around 40 of them in Shell’s network. There are currently 16 H2 filling stations in North Rhine-Westphalia, including in Frechen, Cologne, Leverkusen and Düsseldorf, and there will soon be one in Bonn as well.
The hydrogen station in Aachen is funded by the European Commission through the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH 2 JU) in the Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME) project.
Comments on the opening of the H2 station in Aachen:
Marcel Philipp, Lord Mayor of Aachen:
“Aachen is a location where mobility is being rethought and researched. Accordingly, we are very interested in hydrogen, which can be used to refuel electric vehicles equipped with fuel cells, to extend their range. We in Aachen are very keen to be a kind of model city for a new inner-city mobility.”
Michael Theben, Head of the Climate Protection Department, Ministry of Economics, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
“Hydrogen is an important fuel for our future energy world. It enables the long-term storage of large volumes of electricity from renewable energies, and supplements battery-electric mobility where long ranges and bigger payloads are required.”
Manfred Becker, Head of Shell Global Hydrogen Operations:
“Hydrogen technology is a promising technology, and H2 a fuel for clean mobility. We expect that, from the 2020s, this alternative drive will play an increasingly important role in markets such as Germany, Britain, the Benelux countries, the USA, and Japan. We are on target for this at Shell.”
Dr Christian Bruch, Member of the Executive Board of Linde AG:
“Hydrogen technology plays a decisive role in the spread of electromobility. High ranges, short refuelling times, and good on-site storage capacities are crucial criteria. Linde technologies are used at all key points in the H2 value chain and ensure high efficiency.”
Nikolas Iwan, Managing Director H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH:
“H2 MOBILITY continues the expansion of the hydrogen filling-station network in Germany: this year we are opening H2 stations every two weeks on average. The technology has reached market maturity. Korea and Japan are already preparing for the mass market. We are looking forward to more and more customers who want emissions-free driving with the ranges and fuelling times they are used to.”
Fabian Schmitt, Chief Technical Officer StreetScooter
“The expansion of the StreetScooter range to include electric vehicles with hydrogen-powered fuel-cell range extenders permits commercial vehicles to achieve emissions-free mobility even for ranges beyond practical battery capacities, as well as the electrification of higher service loads/payloads. This enables us to offer our customers the right tool for every application. We are especially keen to support the development of the necessary infrastructure in our hometown of Aachen.”
About H2 MOBILITY
H2 Mobility Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG is responsible for establishing a hydrogen infrastructure to supply cars with fuel-cell propulsion (700 bar technology) in Germany. The interim goal by 2019/2020 is to operate 100 stations in seven German metropolitan regions (Hamburg, Berlin, Rhine-Ruhr, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Munich) as well as along trunk roads and motorways. With the ramp-up of vehicle numbers, as many as 400 hydrogen stations will eventually ensure a nationwide supply. H2 MOBILITY handles all the tasks – planning, construction, operation, and marketing – that are necessary for successfully expanding and operating the network.
The company’s shareholders are Air Liquide, Daimler, Linde, OMV, Shell and TOTAL, with BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen and NOW GmbH (National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology) serving in an advisory capacity as associated partners.
PRESS ENQUIRIES:
Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH
Axel Pommeränke, +49 (0) 40 6324 5290, shellpress@shell.com
Linde AG
Thomas Schaefer, +49 (0) 89 7446-2464, thomas.kurt.schaefer@linde.com
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Sybille Riepe, +49 (0) 170 58 70 317, riepe@h2-mobility.de
Streetscooter
Alexander Edenhofer, +49 (0) 228-182 9924, a.edenhofer@dpdhl.com