Hydrogen Mobility Want to Operate 100 Hydrogen Stations in Germany by 2021

Hydrogen Mobility Deutschland is currently working to establish a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure to supply fuel cell vehicles with fuel across Germany.

With a goal to operate 100 hydrogen stations in seven German metropolitan areas and along the connecting arterial roads and motorways by the beginning of 2021, Hydrogen Mobility Deutschland anticipates a big uptake in hydrogen mobility across the country.

In addition to its above goals, the group hopes to further ramp the number up by another 300 as the number of hydrogen vehicles also rises.

To find out more about Hydrogen Mobility Deutchland and its goals, Hydrogen Mobility Europe spoke to Nikolas Iwan, Managing Director of Hydrogen Mobility Deutschland to find out more:

Hydrogen Mobility Europe (HME): It has been a busy few years for H2Mobility Deutschland, where are you today?

Nikolas Iwan (NI): When we took on the task of expanding the Germany-wide hydrogen infrastructure in 2015, there were 16 hydrogen filling stations in Germany. Today there are 84, and we have an operations team that maintains the stations and provides 24/7 support to our customers, increasing the availability to 93%.

The milestone of 100 hydrogen stations, mainly for hydrogen passenger cars, will be reached early 2021 – a little later than expected due to the impact of the Coronavirus. Then the installed capacity will be sufficient to supply 40,000 hydrogen cars and, at six stations, some hydrogen buses.

HME: What are the further expansion plans for the hydrogen filling station network for the coming year?

NI: In the next phase, we will then build larger stations, depending on the demand, where we can also refuel buses and commercial vehicles. Demand is decisive for good utilisation of the stations because, in addition to the economic relevance, unused stations age faster.

The commitment of companies and politics is crucial for further expansion. Increasing environmental awareness and pushing demand is needed as well as a clear regulatory framework and further funding, also to establish the right infrastructure in the heavy-duty vehicle sector in Europe.

Only an overall European approach that transcends borders can lead to success. To achieve the greatest possible emission savings, we also need rules and incentives for green hydrogen. We are convinced that hydrogen as a fuel will thus make a significant contribution in the coming years to the shift towards clean mobility for cars and commercial vehicles.

HME: What are the further expansion deployment plans for vehicles in the coming years?

Today it is possible to drive hydrogen-mobile with a fuel cell car in Germany without any problems. We now expect increased commitment from the vehicle industry.

In addition, the support of the EU and the Federal Republic of Germany remains necessary in order to establish a suitable infrastructure for the commercial vehicle sector. Here, larger stations are needed that can handle 350 bar as well as 700 bar technology.

Mergers like Daimler and Volvo in the truck sector, as recently announced, prove that hydrogen is the zero-emission solution for heavy vehicles in particular. The collaboration will also have positive effects for hydrogen in passenger cars because with the scaling up of fuel cell production, cost-optimised fuel cells will also be available for hydrogen passenger cars.

This is essential because there is no alternative to hydrogen cars when it comes to high range requirements (more than 250 km) or driving profiles where charging times are economically disadvantageous (e.g. taxis, ride-sharing services).

It now takes collaboration, support, funding, clear rules and regulations to increase the number of vehicles on the road – both for passenger cars as well as light and heavy-duty vehicles.

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