At the commissioning of the 50th public hydrogen refuelling station, H2 MOBLITY partners Linde and TOTAL celebrated an important step in the development of hydrogen mobility in Germany. The station, located on Horstweg in the south-east of Potsdam, was opened at a ceremony attended by representatives of the EU’s Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH 2JU), the federal government, Brandenburg’s state government and the city of Potsdam.
Aside from a 700 bar fuel pump for cars, a mechanism for an optional 350 bar pump for refuelling busses has been preinstalled. The technology for the new hydrogen facility at the Potsdam TOTAL filling station originates from Linde and allows around 40 vehicles to be refuelled per day. The joint venture H2 MOBILITY is the owner and operator, which brings together the companies Air Liquide, Daimler, Linde, OMV, Shell and TOTAL. The partners’ first goal is the operation of around 100 stations in seven German urban areas (Hamburg, Berlin, Rhine-Ruhr, Frankfurt, Nurnberg, Stuttgart and Munich), as well as along trunk roads and motorways by 2019. With the ramp-up of the number of fuel cell vehicles, another 300 hydrogen refuelling stations will then come on stream.
H2 MOBILITY is receiving subsidies from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH 2JU) under grant agreement no. 671438. The Joint Undertaking is funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme for research and innovation as well as by Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.
H2 MOBILITY is a part of Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME), one of the lighthouse projects funded by the FCH JU, uniting Europe’s leading initiatives in the area of hydrogen mobility from Germany, France, the UK and Scandinavia. Through H2ME, the FCH JU is funding the construction of an extensive H2 refuelling station infrastructure with the aim of making emission-free driving possible across Europe.
The establishment of a nationwide H2 network was largely advanced through the commitment of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), an association of industry representatives from different sectors, which is funded by the federal government under the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP). The federal government is also an associated partner of H2 MOBILITY through NOW GmbH.
Hydrogen e-mobility reduces CO2 emissions
Environmentally-friendly hydrogen electric mobility generates neither local pollutants nor CO2 emissions and provides a high level of driving comfort due to short refuelling times and long ranges. Fuel cell vehicles can be refuelled in under five minutes with enough energy to cover a range of up to 800 kilometres. Compared to battery-operated cars, H2 vehicles produce their electricity on board themselves, where hydrogen reacts with air in the fuel cell, thereby yielding the electricity to propel the vehicle. The development of H2 infrastructure in Germany is well underway. Over the past few days more stations in Dresden, Hasbergen and Ratingen have been completed. Additional refuelling stations are under construction and development, e.g. in Leipzig, Hamburg, Magdeburg and Erfurt.
Bart Biebuyck, FCH JU Director:
“The opening of the 50th hydrogen refuelling station in Germany demonstrates Germany’s leading role in the development of hydrogen infrastructure in Europe. Thanks to successful cooperation between H2 MOBILITY Germany and the FCH JU’s lighthouse project: Hydrogen Mobility Europe (H2ME), the EU is contributing to the rapid development of hydrogen refuelling stations in Germany. We will utilise the results of the H2ME project to advance the development of H2 infrastructure in other parts of Europe as well.”
Dr. Klaus Bonhoff, Managing Director (Chair), NOW GmbH:
“Each additional hydrogen refuelling station brings us a step closer to our goal of clean mobility. To achieve our climate goals, the transport sector must orient itself towards electric mobility and drive systems as well as electrically-based fuels. Mobility using hydrogen plays a central role here and through the National Innovation Programme (NIP), the federal government has invested massively in this area. We are seeing these successes today.”
Kathrin Schneider, Transport Minister for the State of Brandenburg:
“An important goal of our mobility strategy is the further development and testing of alternative drive systems. New mobility technologies can only be implemented however, when the appropriate infrastructure is available. We are making good progress with the opening of the new filling station.”
Jann Jakobs, Mayor of Potsdam:
“As of today, the state capital of Potsdam is now firmly on the national map of hydrogen mobility, and thus is taking a significant step forward in emission-free mobility of the future.”
Bruno Daude-Lagrave, Managing Director, TOTAL Deutschland GmbH:
“Since 2002, TOTAL has been one of the pioneers in the development of hydrogen mobility in Germany. We are working very closely together with partners from industry and politics and have achieved one of the most important milestones on the path to a national H2 infrastructure in Germany with the opening of the 50th public hydrogen refuelling station. The Potsdam station is the 18th in TOTAL’s network and a significant cornerstone for other hydrogen projects in the region. Because of its proximity to the motorway, it complements the national network for the market introduction of fuel cell cars and also paves the way for the establishment of a bus fleet in Potsdam. With other projects at TOTAL stations in Dresden, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Erfurt und Neuruppin, we will soon be making the use of hydrogen-based electric mobility possible throughout the whole of Eastern Germany.”
Jens Waldeck, Linde Gas, Head of Region Central Europe:
“Most of the H2 MOBILITY hydrogen refuelling stations are already operating using Linde technology. We are proud to install our proven IC90 technology in the 50th station, especially since, as one of the world’s largest manufacturers in this area, we have been carrying out pioneering work using hydrogen as an industrial gas in multiple applications for more than 100 years. We opened the first public hydrogen refuelling station in Germany already in 2004 and because of our conviction, we are also a founding member and shareholder of H2 MOBILITY.”
Nikolas Iwan, Managing Director, H2 MOBILITY:
“We are delighted to welcome more hydrogen customers who want electric mobility without limitations. Because only hydrogen provides dynamic and clean driving as well as conventional ranges with a refuelling time of under 5 minutes. The hydrogen refuelling network is growing at speed. Every two weeks we put another station into operation – the number of green dots on our map at www.h2.live will multiply rapidly over the coming months. We are achieving this thanks to the EU, which is providing funding to us, as is the case in Potsdam. Anyone interested can follow our progress very simply via our H2.LIVE app.”
PRESS CONTACTS:
H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
Sybille Riepe, +49 (0)170 58 70 317,
TOTAL Deutschland GmbH Annika Schön, +49 (0)30 20 27 62 31,