Berlin, 26 September 2024 | Germany’s leading operator of currently around 70 public hydrogen refuelling stations, H2 MOBILITY Deutschland, announces the closure of six 700-bar refuelling stations at the end of the year. The filling stations in Stuttgart, Kamen, Brunsbüttel, Fellbach, Erfurt and Pforzheim will be closed on 31 December 2024.

Martin Jüngel, Managing Director and CFO of H2 MOBILITY Deutschland, explains the reasons for the closure: “In the event that it is unavoidable, older, smaller hydrogen refuelling stations built more than 10 years ago that no longer meet today’s technical and economic requirements will be taken off the network. The stations were constructed many years ago for use by passenger vehicles. They do not have the capacity for the expansion of heavy goods vehicles. We regret the inconvenience caused by the current closures and would like to thank our customers, many of whom have been travelling for many years with an impressive pioneering spirit. We thank our customers for their loyalty at these locations.”

For a good three years now, H2 MOBILITY has been expanding its station network, which was originally designed for passenger cars, to include 350-bar charge points for buses and trucks and has thus begun an equally early transformation process as a pioneer in the industry. This transformation is primarily due to the muted market ramp-up for passenger cars and small commercial vehicles. “A lot has changed in the vehicle market since our foundation in 2015. The expected passenger car ramp-up failed to materialise. We are responding to these changes with our network strategy. To date, we have successfully retrofitted 34 existing hydrogen refuelling stations throughout Germany for use by trucks and buses. This has enabled us to expand the capacity of existing locations that were originally only designed for passenger cars and to strengthen their relevance. In the coming years, these stations will help to support the market ramp-up of heavy commercial vehicles and will continue to serve our 700-bar customers,” says Jüngel.

Network development with new generation of refuelling stations for trucks & buses

In addition to existing hydrogen refuelling stations, H2 MOBILITY is also focusing on the construction of new, larger stations. Over the next six months, three new locations with 350- and 700-bar refuelling facilities will open in Frankenthal (Rhineland-Palatinate), Mannheim (Baden-Württemberg) and Düsseldorf (North Rhine-Westphalia). In April 2024, a hydrogen 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 with H2 MOBILITY.

For the conversion at existing locations, existing dispensers will be supplemented with a 350 bar nozzle. In some cases, the hydrogen storage capacities are also being expanded. This year alone, 18 additional 350-bar nozzles have already been installed at existing stations. By the end of December, the H2 MOBILITY station network will offer over 50 350-bar refuelling points.

In order to ensure the temporary continued operation of as many small stations as possible, H2 MOBILITY Deutschland is currently in talks with market partners, in particular with vehicle manufacturers for passenger cars and small commercial vehicles.  Further information will follow in due course. Up-to-date information on refuelling stations and their development can be found at www.h2.live.de or in the H2.LIVE app.

Pioneer in Europe: H2 MOBILITY station network 

Fuel cell vehicles can currently refuel at 700 bar at around 70 public H2 MOBILITY hydrogen refuelling stations in Germany, including passenger cars and smaller commercial vehicles as well as waste collectors. Refuelling at 350 bar is already possible for buses and trucks at 34 stations. Further expansion will be demand-driven.

About H2 MOBILITY

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 cars. The characteristics of the first generation of filling 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 with 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 Germany has set itself the goal of switching completely to green hydrogen by 2028.

Further information at www.h2-mobility.de/en

Contact:

H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co KG: Daniela Dietz, Head of Communications, presse@h2-mobility.de

Photo: Copyright (c) H2 MOBILITY