Fuel cell vehicles can be refuelled at more and more filling stations: H2 MOBILITY Deutschland and its partners Shell and Linde have jointly opened the first hydrogen (H2) station in Meerane. FES GmbH Fahrzeug-Entwicklung Sachsen played a central role in constructing this facility in the Saxon district of Zwickau.
The network of hydrogen filling stations is becoming increasingly dense. In Germany there are already 86 H2 filling stations, 34 of which are at Shell sites. Expansion will continue according to demand. The main expansion priorities include the metropolitan region of Rhine/Ruhr and Rhine/Main, as well as Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart as well as the major arterial roads.
Third station in Saxony
In Saxony there are H2 filling stations already in Dresden and Leipzig. The new Meerane location at the Shell filling station on Äußere Crimmitschauer Str. 125 is conveniently located at the A4 as well as at the B93 motorways, thus linking Dresden and Erfurt as well as Leipzig and the Nuremberg region.
Hydrogen is used to refuel fuel cell electric vehicles. Their advantages? No noise, no pollutants, yet the same utilisation, speed and range as a car with a petrol or diesel engine. Hydrogen vehicles have ranges of between 500 and 700 kilometres and can be refuelled in just three to five minutes.
The new hydrogen station has a 400kg storage tank for liquefied hydrogen and avails of cryopump technology developed by Linde. Drivers can operate the system intuitively and refuelling is similar to that of conventional vehicles. Hydrogen offers the opportunity to expand the range of fuels in the transport sector in a climate-friendly manner, because using hydrogen – especially when it is produced with renewable energy – can considerably decrease CO2 emissions.
A larger hydrogen car fleet in the region is already being operated by vehicle developer FES GmbH Sachsen. The new public filling station enables the company to refuel fuel cell vehicles already during the development and testing phase as well as in everyday operation. FES GmbH is thus strengthening its position as leading development service provider in the system integration of fuel cell drives in vehicles.
The station in Meerane is part of the Hydrogen Mobility Europe project which receives financing from Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH 2 JU, Grant agreement no. 671438). The FCH JU is supported by the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (Horizon 2020), Hydrogen Europe and the Hydrogen Europe Research Association.