H2 Energy put the world's first Avia hydrogen filling station into operation in St. Gallen, Switzerland. After Coop in Hunzenschwil (since 2016), it is the second public filling station of this type in the country. The Swiss Bertrand Piccard, who together with André Borschberg circumnavigated the earth in the solar plane “Solar Impulse” in 2016, was enlisted to press the obligatory button.
By the end of 2020, four more hydrogen filling stations will be available on the Lake Constance – Lake Geneva axis: Rümlang (ZH), Zofingen (AG), Bern (BE) and Crissier (VD). They offer green hydrogen for commercial vehicles (350 bar) and passenger cars (700 bar). A comprehensive network of filling stations is to be created by 2023. “In parallel, the volume of passenger cars with environmentally friendly hydrogen-electric drives is likely to increase significantly,” says the company.
Hydrospider, Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM), the H2 Mobility Switzerland support association and H2 Energy are involved in the development of hydrogen mobility in Switzerland. Hydrospider AG produces the gas in a new production facility at the Alpiq Gösgen hydroelectric power station (SO). The hydrogen is produced locally exclusively using electricity from water, sun and wind.
Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility AG wants to import around 2025 fuel cell electric trucks by 1.600. The first ten series XCIENT Fuel Cell vehicles have already been delivered, and a further 40 trucks are expected to follow by the end of the year. They are available to commercial fleet customers on a pay-per-use basis (we reported).
Hyundai and Toyota already offer standard electric passenger cars in Switzerland that are fueled with hydrogen. Since 2016, H2 Energy has operated a hydrogen production plant, a hydrogen filling station, a hydrogen-powered truck and several hydrogen-powered cars together with Coop, Coop Mineralöl AG and Eniwa AG.
Photos:
Bertrand Piccard at the opening of the first Avia hydrogen filling station in Switzerland / © H2 Energy
