The hydrogen distribution centre on Friesenheim Island in Mannheim will in future supply buses and other vehicles in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region with hydrogen. The groundbreaking ceremony for the “H2 Hub” took place in the presence of Parliamentary State Secretary Theurer during “Hydrogen Week South”.

The hydrogen model region is taking a big step: With the groundbreaking ceremony for the “H2 Hub” hydrogen distribution centre, the “H2Rivers” and “H2Rhein-Neckar” projects funded by the federal government and the state of Baden-Württemberg are starting with the concrete implementation of the planned measures. “H2Rivers” is part of the HyLand programme from the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV – Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr) in the HyPerformer category.

Air Liquide is building the central hydrogen high-pressure filling centre on Friesenheimer Insel in Mannheim. It will have a capacity of 3 tonnes of hydrogen per day for mobility applications and, in the future, will supply the six hydrogen filling stations in the region with green-certified hydrogen. BASF in Ludwigshafen produces and supplies the required hydrogen, which is purified for use in fuel cells. The second pillar of the H2 Hub concept is the reliable supply of hydrogen to industrial customers in the region.
At the groundbreaking ceremony held at the construction site on 30 June 2022, a large number of guests emphasised the importance of the distribution centre and the entire H2Rivers / H2Rhine-Neckar projects – not only for the region itself, but also for Europe as a whole.

Hydrogen for the Rhine-Neckar Region
Through the planning of the entire value chain for the alternative energy carrier, from the production of hydrogen to the purchase of the vehicles by transport companies and municipalities, the consortium partners are setting an example and pressing ahead with scaling up to national or even European industrial processes.
The Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport, Michael Theurer, praised the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region and the participating consortium partners as true HyPerformers in the field of the hydrogen economy.

Thanks to the individual projects of H2Rivers and H2Rhein-Neckar, 48 articulated buses, several commercial vehicles from municipalities and numerous fuel cell cars will be travelling through the region in the future. With the demonstrative use in public transport, hydrogen will become both visible and tangible as an important alternative energy carrier.

Picture: Representatives from politics and industry at the groundbreaking ceremony for “H2 Hub”. Copyright: BASF