At a ceremony on 1 October that was attended by Dr. Sven Halldorn, Head of the Policy Department at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV – Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr), and Dr. Nicolas Meyer, Lord Mayor of the City of Frankenthal, a new hydrogen refuelling station was officially opened in the State of Rhineland-Palatinate. The station enables hydrogen trucks and buses to be refuelled at 350 bar, and hydrogen cars and light commercial vehicles at 700 bar at the newly opened facility.
With a daily capacity of approx. 800 kg, the filling station, which is also accessible to the general public, can supply up to 30 hydrogen-powered trucks and buses per day. H2 MOBILITY Deutschland, which is responsible for the construction and operation of the filling station, is working together with the chemical company BASF, which has invested a share in the 350-bar module, to expand the hydrogen infrastructure in the Rhine-Neckar region.
Federal Minister Dr. Volker Wissing: “The hydrogen filling station in Frankenthal that was opened today is another important step towards climate-neutral mobility. The hydrogen filling station for which we have provided funding support supplements the existing network of filling stations for heavy-duty commercial vehicles and buses in the Rhine-Neckar region. This is one of the ways how we create the conditions for local companies to convert their fleets to hydrogen.”
Dr. Nicolas Meyer, Lord Mayor of Frankenthal: “The opening of this hydrogen refuelling station marks a significant step towards sustainable mobility in our region. It is a clear signal for climate protection and the future of environmentally friendly transport technologies. Together with H2 MOBILITY Deutschland and BASF, we are shaping clean and innovative mobility for Frankenthal and beyond.”
The filling station is strategically and conveniently located for logistics operations, being in close proximity to the Ludwigshafen Nord motorway junction and therefore the A6 motorway. Three more H2 MOBILITY filling stations of a similar size and capacity will be built in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region by 2026, including in Mannheim and Ludwigshafen.
“The dimensions of the filling station show the direction in which we are developing in hydrogen mobility. Just one single station is capable of supplying various vehicle types. This is how we will succeed in making the entire spectrum of mobility choices sustainable, including the area of commercial freight and passenger transport. The filling station in Frankenthal enables companies, public transport operators and the municipalities in the region to switch to climate-friendly hydrogen-based mobility. We would like to thank our project partners for their active commitment, cooperation and the shared vision that has made this transport transition project so successful. Together with further new H2 MOBILITY stations, is becoming clear that a redundant network of H2 filling stations is emerging in the Rhine-Neckar region,” says Martin Jüngel, Managing Director and CFO of H2 MOBILITY Deutschland.
With its investment in the H2 filling station, BASF is seeking to further expand the hydrogen economy in the region. In addition to the switch to more sustainable drives in the field of mobility, CO2-free hydrogen is also an important leverage point for the energy transition at BASF. “Close collaboration between the hydrogen producers, distributors and customers is a prerequisite for a cross-sector hydrogen economy,” says Dr. Tilmann Hezel, Senior Vice President Infrastructure at the BASF site in Ludwigshafen. “This is where we come in with our collaboration with H2 MOBILITY. Not only through our participation in the new filling station, but also by building a water electrolyser, we are aspiring to pave the path towards fuel cell vehicles for our suppliers and transport companies alike, as well as for supporting regional mobility.”
H2Rivers: Rhine-Neckar Hydrogen Demonstration Project
H2Rivers is part of the HyLand programme of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV – Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr) in the HyPerformer category. The H2Rivers project is laying the groundwork for the comprehensive market entry of emission-free hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in the mobility sector in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region and the central Neckar area. The development of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region as a hydrogen region is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure as one of the winning regions of the ‘HyLand – Hydrogen Regions in Germany’ programme with up to €20 million in investment grants as part of the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP2). For its part, the hydrogen refuelling station in Frankenthal is receiving funding of €1,288,000. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by the project management organisation Jülich (PtJ).
Dr. Doris Wittneben, Head of Future Fields and Innovation at MRN GmbH: “As the coordinator of the H2Rivers project, we are particularly pleased that the Frankenthal hydrogen refuelling station marks the launch of another important building block for a strong, resilient hydrogen ecosystem for the metropolitan region. Rhein-Neckar now has a dense network of hydrogen filling stations for trucks, buses, municipal vehicles and cars. This makes the region one of the largest showcases for hydrogen technologies, from the production of green hydrogen and the associated necessary infrastructure to the use of hydrogen in fuel cell vehicles.”
