Germany's First Hydrogen Filling Station on the Autobahn Opens
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- Daimler, Linde and TOTAL create southern Germany’s first hub for hydrogen mobility
- Other stations planned by end of 2015
- Funded by the National Innovation Programme (NIP)
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GEISELWIND/BERLIN/MUNICH/STUTTGART -- May 4, 2015: Motorway service areas seen as possible locations for H2 filling stations on the autobahn
As part of
the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), Daimler, Linde and TOTAL have jointly
taken an important step forward in the expansion of Germany’s
hydrogen (H2) infrastructure. In the presence of Dorothee Bär,
Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport and
Digital Infrastructure, Germany's first motorway hydrogen filling station
was officially inaugurated today. The new H2 filling pump at the TOTAL
motorway service area in Geiselwind on the A3 between Würzburg and
Nuremberg links the existing filling facilities in the metropolitan regions
of Frankfurt/Main, Stuttgart and Munich with each other, forming a hub for
electric fuel cell vehicles in southern Germany.
In her opening speech, State Secretary Bär said:
“Electric vehicles with hydrogen fuel cell drives produce no harmful
emissions. They have a long range and can refuel in minutes. Politics,
science and industry have worked together to bring hydrogen mobility to the
brink of market entry. Together with industry, we have provided a total of
1.4 billion euros for research, development and demonstration projects up
until 2016. We are now increasingly tackling the development of
infrastructure: by the end of 2015, 50 hydrogen filling stations will be
available in metropolitan areas and along major roads. The new filling
station in Geiselwind brings us one step closer to this target. The nearly
one million euros of funding spent on the construction of this filling
station is money well spent because good infrastructure is a prerequisite
for this new form of mobility to really catch on!”
“Networking the national H2 infrastructure is the key
to success for the market introduction of electric vehicles with fuel
cells. Only then can they be a ‘real’ alternative for
customers,” says Prof. Dr Herbert Kohler, Vice President Group
Research and Sustainability and Chief Environmental Officer at Daimler AG.
“That's why we are not only actively investing in the development of
the next generation of vehicles, but we are the only car manufacturer to
invest in the development of a nationwide network of filling stations in
Germany.”
“Thanks to the long range
of fuel cell vehicles and this ideally positioned motorway location, we are
now one step closer to nationwide coverage,” said Markus Bachmeier,
Head of Hydrogen Solutions at Linde. “We are therefore especially
pleased to have contributed to this important milestone with our refuelling
technology and our sustainably produced hydrogen.”
Guillaume Larroque, Director of Service Stations at TOTAL
Germany, emphasised: “We see ourselves as trailblazers in building
the hydrogen filling station infrastructure in Germany. We have
demonstrated this with our commitment for over twelve years. Including
Geiselwind, TOTAL already operates seven of the 18 public H2 filling
stations in Germany – at TOTAL alone, well over 1,000 fuel cell
vehicles could already be refuelled with green hydrogen today.”
At the inauguration, Alexander Ruscheinsky, Chairman
of the Vereinigung Deutscher Autohöfe e.V. (German Association of Motorway
Service Areas – VEDA), said: “The operators of motorway service
area are committed to the development of new forms of mobility, and have
already opened up their facilities for various electric charging concepts.
So it is only logical that the first autobahn hydrogen filling station is
at a service area. After all, the fact that they serve both directions of a
motorway and intersecting A and B roads makes them an inexpensive way to
efficiently develop a new refuelling network.”
TOTAL has invested more than 250,000 euros in Geiselwind
and shouldered all construction and approval costs, as well as the project
management for installing the hydrogen technology, including service and
maintenance components.
With around 90 stations
set up in 15 countries, Linde has for many years been a leader in hydrogen
technology. It operates the world's first small-series production facility
for hydrogen fuelling stations in Vienna, where Linde uses its proprietary
IC90 ionic compressor, which combines advantages in power consumption,
maintenance and noise.
The construction of a
nationwide hydrogen infrastructure in Germany is accompanied by the planned
market ramp-up of fuel cell cars from various manufacturers. The Geiselwind
site is part of the expansion plan launched in 2012 that will initially
expand the German H2 network from its current 18 locations to 50 –
see Clean Energy Partnership
With 50 hydrogen filling stations, nationwide mobility
between metropolitan areas along the main roads will be possible throughout
Germany. Within this expansion programme, the Daimler-Linde initiative is
participating in a total of 20 new H2 stations with a total investment of
approximately 20 million euros.
The project is
supported by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure
as part of its National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell
Technology (NIP). The programme is managed by NOW GmbH (National
Organisation for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology).