Hydrogen power to be Germany-wide by 2023

A joint-venture formed by six industrial companies paves the way for the staged expansion of Hydrogen (H2) filling stations across Germany.

Air Liquide, Linde, OMV, Shell and Total, have all formed a cross-sector joint venture, H2 MOBILITY Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG.

This limited partnership aims to bring the total of H2 filling stations to around 400 by 2023. The Berlin-based venture has commenced operations and is working intensively in preparation for Stage One of the joint action plan.

Stage one of the project involves the accelerated set up of 100 filling stations over the next few years. German Federal Minister for Transport Alexander Dobrindt welcomed plans for the more widespread hydrogen network and discussed the future steps with senior representatives of the H2 MOBILITY venture.

"I welcome the plans of H2 MOBILITY to build up 400 hydrogen fuelling stations in Germany by 2023," he said.

"Electric vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells offer the best conditions: you have a long range and can refuel in some minutes."

"For the market ramp-up of this technology, we now need a comprehensive network of fuelling stations for hydrogen," he added.

H2 MOBILITY's action plan aims for a Germany-wide network of H2 stations by 2023, which if successful would make Germany the first country in the world to offer an inner-regional network where fuel cell vehicles (FCEV's) can refuel with hydrogen. To achieve this, investments of around EUR 400 million in total are planned.

The German Federal Government has declared that it aims to be the leading market for sustainable mobility solutions and efficient technology. FCEV's will help to reduce CO2 emissions significantly, especially when using hydrogen from renewable sources as FCEV's drive locally emission free.

Numerous car manufacturers are involved in the H2 MOBILITY venture, including BMW, Volkswagen, Honda and Toyota.

Mercedes-Benz has also previously voiced its support for the establishment of a global hydrogen economy and its preference for fuel cells over battery power.

The H2 MOBILITY collaboration is also working in close partnership with the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), which is the largest hydrogen mobility project in Europe.

Pictured: Back row, left to right: Dr Peter Blauwhoff, Chairman of the Board of Deutsche Shell Holding GmbH, Benoît Potier, CEO Air Liquide, Hans-Christian Gützkow, CEO Total Deutschland.

Front row, left to right: Dr Wolfgang Büchele, CEO Linde Group, Federal Minister Dobrindt,  Prof Dr Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG