(Antwerp/Belgium) – In Antwerp, CMB.Tech claims to have opened the “first multimodal hydrogen filling station in the world”, where ships, cars, trucks and buses can obtain the fuel. The location is within sight of the Port House at the harbor in order, according to the company, “to be able to supply industrial users on the one hand and to be easily accessible to the general public on the other”. The development and construction time was around two and a half years.
In addition to the gas station, there are also two systems on the site through which the hydrogen generated using green electricity can be pressed into tube trailers, which in turn deliver mobile goods to interested parties in the port, like tank trucks. There are also a number of ultra-fast charging stations where electric cars can be charged in less than 15 minutes. According to CMB.Tech technical director Roy Campe, the concept will be further refined in the coming months, is scalable and can also be transferred to other ports.
According to the company, the gas station is equipped with a 1,2 megawatt PEM electrolyzer that can produce around 450 kilograms of hydrogen per day. It has, among other things, a buffer storage, a hydrogen compressor (950 bar), a fuel pump for cars (700 bar, -40 degrees Celsius), a fuel pump for buses and trucks (350 bar), two connections for the tube trailers (unloading and Filling up to 500 bar) and a marine bunker system (200 and 350 bar). 
The impetus for the construction of the tank system was provided not least by the MV Hydroville, which went into operation in 2017, a boat for 13 passengers plus crew that was previously supplied with mobile supplies by a trailer. According to the company, the Hydroville uses the gas in a diesel engine and was designed by CMB as a test platform for hydrogen technology in shipbuilding.
“Lenoir” hybrid truck presented
In addition to the hydrogen filling station, CMB.Tech introduced the first hydrogen-powered dual-fuel truck, called “Lenoir”. The name refers to the Belgian inventor Étienne Lenoir, who built the first hydrogen-powered combustion engine in 1860. The technology was developed together with the US diesel and gas engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. Technical details were not mentioned.
CMB.Tech is part of the shipping and logistics group Compagnie Maritime Belge NV (CMB). The department is active in hydrogen solutions from manufacturing to industrial and maritime applications
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New hydrogen filling station in Antwerp / © CMB.Tech
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Rendering of the further expansion of the hydrogen filling station in Antwerp / © CMB.Tech
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MS Hydroville / © CMB.Tech
