Drivers of fuel-cell vehicles can refuel at an ever-growing number of filling stations: H2 MOBILITY Deutschland and its partners Shell and Air Liquide have now opened another hydrogen (H2) station in Hamburg.

The network of H2 filling stations continues to grow. There are currently 87 H2 stations in Germany, 5 of them in Hamburg. Besides the Hanseatic city, the network expansion is focused on the metropolitan regions of Berlin, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart Rhine/Ruhr and Rhine/Main as well as the key connecting roads.

In Hamburg, the Shell filling station on Weg beim Jäger right next to the airport is an ideal addition: There are already hydrogen filling stations in the west, south, east, and in the city centre, so the new station in the north of Hamburg fills a geographical gap in the urban network.

H2 MOBILITY Deutschland is responsible for the construction and operation of the hydrogen infrastructure in Germany. The filling stations of its shareholders, which include Shell, are preferred locations.

With this new station, Shell confirms its commitment to hydrogen. The company aims to become a leading supplier of green hydrogen for industrial and transport customers. The aim is to achieve a 100 MW electrolyser capacity at its Rhineland refinery by 2025. The company is also considering other H2 projects, including in Hamburg and Bavaria.

The filling station technology at the new H2 filling station is provided by the gas and technology company Air Liquide. The facility holds around 200 kilograms of hydrogen and is state-of-the-art. A second foundation for another above-ground tank has already been laid to double/expand the storage capacity. So if an expansion is to be realised at a later date, it will require only a few ‘tweaks’, so to speak.

Hydrogen is used to refuel electric vehicles with fuel cells. The advantages are: no noise, no pollutants, but the same usage, speed and range as for cars with petrol or diesel engines. Hydrogen vehicles have ranges of 500 to 700 kilometres and can be refuelled in just three to five minutes. Hydrogen therefore offers a climate-friendly way to expand the range of fuels available in the transport sector, because hydrogen, especially when produced with renewable energy, can significantly reduce climate-damaging CO2 emissions.

For the construction of the hydrogen station in Hamburg, H2 MOBILITY received funding of almost €950,000 from the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP) via the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).

 

About H2 MOBILITY

H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG is responsible for establishing a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure to supply cars with fuel-cell propulsion in Germany. The first target is to operate 100 hydrogen stations in seven German metropolitan areas (Hamburg, Berlin, Rhine-Ruhr, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Munich) as well as along connecting motorways and highways. At all stations, cars and light commercial vehicles (vans) can refuel with up to 5 kg (in some cases up to 8 kg) of hydrogen at 700 bar.

From 2021 on, more stations will be built wherever there is a demand for commercial vehicles and a public filling station makes sense for a growing network of filling stations for cars. H2 MOBILITY handles all the tasks – planning, construction, operation and marketing – that are necessary for successfully expanding and operating the network.

H2 MOBILITY’s shareholders are Air Liquide, Daimler, Linde, OMV, Shell, and TOTAL, with BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Volkswagen as well as NOW GmbH National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology serving H2 MOBILITY in an advisory capacity as associated partners.

For more information: www.h2-mobility.de