Germany's First Hydrogen Filling Station on the Autobahn Opens

[Peace Piper]

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. Earlier today, Germany's first motorway hydrogen filling station was officially inaugurated.

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, Dorothee Bär, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, 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 (Rs 10,701 crore) 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 (Rs 7.6 crore) 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,” said 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.”...snip read more
http://www.autocarpro.in/news-intern...-autobahn-8349

Related: From 2012-Europe's Largest Hydrogen Refuelling Station Opens in Hamburg

325 Kilograms of Hydrogen made from water per day! The new Toyota Mirai holds about 5 Kg of H2) so this EXISTING station in Hamburg could fill about 65 new Mirai's PER DAY from water and electricity. And if the electricity comes from renewable sources it's called green energy independence.



A hydrogen station capable of delivering 750 kilograms of hydrogen per day opened on Friday in Hamburg's HafenCity development, supplied by power company Vattenfall...

...Half the hydrogen is produced on site by electrolysis of water using renewable energy and the other half is delivered. At the inauguration of the station, Pieter Wasmuth, Executive Vice President of Vattenfall, said that hydrogen storage is a key technology in the integration of a growing proportion of electricity from wind power and photovoltaics into the German energy system...snip read more
http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/news-ar...ens-in-hamburg

[acptulsa]

A little in the way of oxides of nitrogen, and maybe a one stage catalyst to be rid of them (relatively free-flowing for a catalytic converter). Otherwise, there's nothing in the exhaust pipe but steam and a little condensed water.

And hydrogen, being literally lighter than air, is easy to make from electricity and a whole hell of a lot lighter than batteries.

[Zippyjuan]

Apparently costs about $1 million for one of those stations (not counting the costs of producing the hydrogen). http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/02/d...in-four-years/

Of course, such plans don't come cheap. The group estimates that about 350 million euros ($474 million) will be required to build the 400-station network. That's consistent with US estimates that each hydrogen refueling station costs about $1 million to build, or more than ten times the funds needed for a new electric-vehicle charging station. According to the most recent data available from the Department of Energy, the US had just 10 publicly accessible hydrogen stations. Nine are in California and the other is in South Carolina. Check out Daimler's press release below.

The station can handle 65 cars in a day. Germany has about 61 million cars so if they all went to hydrogen they would require about a million such stations. http://www.best-selling-cars.com/ger...-german-roads/

At 138 square miles in the country, http://travel.nationalgeographic.com...germany-facts/ that comes to 7.25 per square mile.

[PaulConventionWV]

Apparently costs about $1 million for one of those stations (not counting the costs of producing the hydrogen). http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/02/d...in-four-years/



The station can handle 65 cars in a day. Germany has about 61 million cars so if they all went to hydrogen they would require about a million such stations. http://www.best-selling-cars.com/ger...-german-roads/

At 138 square miles in the country, http://travel.nationalgeographic.com...germany-facts/ that comes to 7.25 per square mile.

I guess they'll have to find a way to handle more cars.

[willwash]

Apparently costs about $1 million for one of those stations (not counting the costs of producing the hydrogen). http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/02/d...in-four-years/



The station can handle 65 cars in a day. Germany has about 61 million cars so if they all went to hydrogen they would require about a million such stations. http://www.best-selling-cars.com/ger...-german-roads/

At 138 square miles in the country, http://travel.nationalgeographic.com...germany-facts/ that comes to 7.25 per square mile.

Every car doesn't fill up every day.

Nice try.

Though you're right, they need to get the production up to the 1000s of kilos/day

[Peace Piper]

Apparently costs about $1 million for one of those stations (not counting the costs of producing the hydrogen). http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/02/d...in-four-years/

That's the general consensus. But that cost will fall. Essentially a hydrogen station is some electrolyzers, tanks, compressors, and a hose with a metering device. Like what is displayed here.





Look at those containers and imagine mass production. Wouldn't be a million each.

Linde has stations that work on "ionic compression"- no moving parts

The station can handle 65 cars in a day. Germany has about 61 million cars so if they all went to hydrogen they would require about a million such stations. http://www.best-selling-cars.com/ger...-german-roads/

At 138 square miles in the country, http://travel.nationalgeographic.com...germany-facts/ that comes to 7.25 per square mile.

It takes ~50 kWh of electricity to make one kilogram of hydrogen with an electrolyzer running at 65% efficiency. There are new electrolyzers in France running at >90% efficiency. New research shows that there may be ways to change or treat the water to make it easier to crack. Also new research that eliminates the most costly part of the electrolyzer- platinum. If Obama didn't cut the funding into hydrogen fuel cells when he took office who knows where the tech would be. But now that Japan and Germany are taking it seriously they'll lead and the US can follow...or not.

Meanwhile, both Obama and Hillary's policy is "Frack baby Frack"

How Hillary Clinton's State Department Sold Fracking to the World
A trove of secret documents details the US government's global push for shale gas.
http://www.motherjones.com/environme...rtment-chevron

[acptulsa]

Every car doesn't fill up every day.

Nice try.

This. We aren't talking about electric cars, which can be drained of power in a couple of hours' driving.

And a million is cheap for a fuel station. Building a gas station that meets the regulations costs far more.

And converting a few pumps in an existing station is bound to cost less.