Expansion of H2 filling station network

Expansion of H2 filling station network

Mar 3, 2015  | Energy 

Expansion of H2 filling station network
(Photo by: Clean Energy Partnership)

The Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) now has a strong new partner for infrastructure development at its side: OMV Deutschland GmbH is integrating an existing H2 filling station into the demonstration project and plans to build three more stations in southern Germany as part of the CEP - another step towards a Germany-wide H2 filling station network for the CEP.

The establishment of a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure is one of the most important tasks that need to be resolved as part of the upcoming market ramp-up of fuel cell vehicles. Many important fuelling standards have been established by the CEP in recent years. The public-private partnership has been a beacon project of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP) since 2008. Germany's federal government and industry are investing a total of 1.4 billion euros under the NIP to promote market preparation. 

"The 700-bar refuelling process, which has now been established as a worldwide standard, was first tested by the CEP," said Patrick Schnell, CEP Chairman and Head of Network Development at Total Germany. "The CEP partners have also done pioneering work with the creation of a filling station availability system and the introduction of a centralised payment system. The task at hand now is to build a nationwide network of H2 filling stations to support the market ramp-up of fuel cell vehicles in Germany. We are pleased that OMV Deutschland GmbH will be contributing to this as part of the CEP."

OMV's commitment in Germany

OMV has been active in the field of hydrogen filling stations in Germany for several years now. In 2009 the company opened the first public hydrogen filling station in Baden-Württemberg. At the Stuttgart Airport filling station, fuel cell cars and buses can refuel with gaseous hydrogen at 700 and 350 bar. Each year, about 5 tons of hydrogen are dispensed to vehicle customers here. Now that OMV has joined the Partnership, the station is officially part of the CEP filling station network. "Major investment in research and development is still necessary to reach market readiness," explains Walter Böhme, Head of OMV Innovation. 

"OMV is an integral part of the development of hydrogen technology." In addition to the existing Stuttgart H2 filling station, OMV has plans to build three additional hydrogen filling stations in southern Germany as part of the CEP. In addition to these CEP locations, an additional hydrogen filling station will be built as part of the "H2 Mobility" initiative.

Europe-wide expansion of H2 infrastructure 

The OMV locations are of strategic importance for connecting to the European hydrogen network. OMV is also planning to build a basic infrastructure for hydrogen mobility in Austria. In addition to the existing filling station in Vienna, between three and five other filling stations will go into operation in the next few years. The H2 filling station in Innsbruck will open shortly. The radius of the H2 filling stations extends to southern Germany, and with the Brenner Pass motorway opens up one of the most important connection axes from Germany to Italy via Austria - an important step for the Europe-wide expansion of the filling station network.

Via Clean Energy Partnership
Image,video ©: Clean Energy Partnership