(Berlin / Germany) – H2 Mobility Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG is investing in expanding existing hydrogen refueling stations and building new ones. This applies to both passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (700 bar) as well as heavy commercial vehicles (350 bar). By the end of the year, there should be 53 locations where buses and trucks can refuel at 350 bar.
18 stations converted this year
"We are retrofitting existing filling stations throughout Germany for use by trucks and buses wherever local conditions allow it," says Frank Fronzke, Managing Director and COO of H2 Mobility. "In this way, we are able to expand the capacity of existing locations that were originally designed for cars and increase their relevance." This year alone, 18 additional 350-bar filling stations have been installed at existing facilities, including in Hamburg, Heidelberg, Dresden and Berg bei Hof.
For the conversion at existing locations, the fuel pumps for 350 bar would be added and in some cases the hydrogen storage capacities would also be expanded. So far, 32 locations have been converted for refueling trucks and buses.
Three new petrol stations by the end of the year
In the next six months, three new locations with 350 and 700 bar will be opened in Frankenthal (Rhineland-Palatinate), Mannheim (Baden-Württemberg) and Düsseldorf (North Rhine-Westphalia). A new station has already been open in Heidelberg since April. "The new generation of filling stations stands for more pumps (350 and 700 bar), larger quantities of hydrogen provided via a trailer system, and significantly more powerful technology, some of which was developed specifically for and by H2 Mobility," says the company.
Hydrogen offers grid-independent storage and transportability, short refueling times, and stable ranges of around 500 kilometers regardless of the outside temperature, says Frank Fronzke: "In order to achieve the transformation in transport, it is essential to exploit this potential of hydrogen."
Currently, fuel cell vehicles can refuel at around 80 public H2 Mobility hydrogen filling stations in Germany at 700 bar, including cars and smaller commercial vehicles as well as garbage collectors. Buses and trucks can be refueled at 32 bar at 350 stations. Further expansion will be demand-oriented, including along the trans-European networks (Trans-European Transport Network, TEN-T).
Closures also included in the programme
However, H2 Mobility is not only building new filling stations, but is also closing stations. In April, the company caused a stir when it closed the only public hydrogen filling station in Koblenz (Rhineland-Palatinate). It was inaugurated in November 2017 by the local branch of the US industrial gas manufacturer Air Liquide.
According to a statement released at the time, the Federal Ministry of Transport provided €900.000 in funding for this "important milestone in the development of a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure in Germany." According to SWR , the period within which this funding had to be used for its intended purpose has expired. Therefore, it does not have to be repaid after the plant's decommissioning, the report states, citing H2 Mobility.
For the time being, Everfuel would rather produce hydrogen than build filling stations. © Everfuel A/S
Refueling station plans are being revised elsewhere as well. For example, the Danish company Everfuel A/S announced last September that it intends to "focus more strongly on the production of green hydrogen" in the future. Due to recent market and company developments, the company is prioritizing the expansion of production capacity and reducing investments in its refueling network. As part of the restructuring, unprofitable older stations will be decommissioned due to the currently "immature mobility market." Everfuel also cites delayed hydrogen deliveries from third parties, supply chain constraints, and cost inflation as reasons for this decision. These factors have negatively impacted the company's commercial and financial performance.
Shell closes stations in California
At the beginning of the year, another player caused a stir: the oil company Shell announced the closure of its seven hydrogen filling stations in California. Accordingly, Equilon Enterprises, LLC, a brand of Shell Oil Products US, will no longer operate any more stations. The reasons given are complications with the hydrogen supply and "other external market factors". However, there are a number of other suppliers of hydrogen at filling stations in California.
H2 Mobility was founded in 2015 with the task of building a comprehensive basic network for hydrogen filling stations for cars. In 2022, the project company became a commercially oriented company with the aim of contributing to the energy transition in transport through a high-performance filling station network. In a financing round, H2 Mobility was able to raise 110 million euros in capital for network development. The largest investor since then has been Hy24, an international fund manager for the development of the global hydrogen economy.
Photo above
H2 Mobility is upgrading hydrogen filling stations for buses and trucks. © H2 Mobility Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG
