H2Mobility has set up a hydrogen refuelling station in Heidelberg, located in Germany and it was recently opened up for first time operations. This occurred which a depot presentation, focused on alternative-powered buses.

The refuelling station has three dispensers and between them, it is possible for the station to provide 1,000kg of hydrogen every day. This was successfully shown when the station refuelled Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr’s (rnv) twenty-seven cell range extender buses.

Now that this success has been proven, a plan for a new project was formed after the depot presentation. This project will involve all the H2-eCitaro buses being parked at the depot and then refuelled with hydrogen and charged with electricity. It has been stated that the cost of carrying out this project and the planning of it, will cost an estimated 24.5m euros. It is hoped that this cost for the hydrogen refuelling station and some of the infrastructure, will be helped through funding from the Ministry of Environment, Climate Protection and Energy sector. It has been suggested that funding from these parties will be delivered through the H2Rhein-Neckar hydrogen demonstration project.

Further down the line, the company are aiming that as part of gradual commissioning, vehicles such as cars and trucks will be able to use the facility, which will be opened up for public refuelling. The refuelling service will be available to public vehicles at 700 and 350 bar from May 2024 onwards, at Wieblinger Weg 92. Once this has occurred, this station will also be used by Heidelberg’s waste collection service.

rnv’s role in this project means they will receive thirteen additional H2 eCitaros, which they will be able to use in Mannheim, plus they will receive a further eight for use in Ludwigshafen. The company will also be involved in testing hydrogen fuel cell technology within waste collection vehicles.

H2Mobility’s future plans around this project, involve the idea of building and operating more public hydrogen refuelling stations within Mannheim. They hope stations will be based here by the summer of 2024, along with more stations in Frankenthal by the end of 2024 and finally, the stations will also be advancing into Ludwigshafen by the beginning of 2025.

The Ministry for Environment, Climate Protection and Energy State Secretary, Dr Andre Baumann, commented, “Thanks to the €16.7m funding for the H2Rhein-Neckar project from the Bade-Württemberg Ministry of Environment, hydrogen can be experienced locally by citizens in climate-friendly local public transport.”

Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of H2Mobility, Frank Fronzke, added, “The size and capacity of the new stations represent a new generation of H2 refuelling stations. The location in Heidelberg and the upcoming new openings demonstrate the importance of partnerships with local players who are determined to drive forward the mobility transition.”