Construction of the first integrated public hydrogen vehicle filling station in Germany has begun in Berlin with completion scheduled for late 2004.
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The Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), a consortium comprising nine partners and the federal government, is backing the project with an investment of €33 million.
Service station operator Aral, the BMW Group, the public transport operator Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), DaimlerChrysler, Ford, GM/Opel, Hydro/GHW, Linde and Vattenfall Europe are supplying infrastructure, technology and vehicles.
“Hydrogen is a promising, clean fuel. We are expecting this series of tests in Berlin, which is based on practical operation, to provide us with further important insights for the production and storage of this fuel and for filling the hydrogen vehicles in everyday [use],” said Peter Sauermann, head of product development at Aral Research and chairman of the CEP steering committee.
From the outside, the new hydrogen filling station will look like a modern Aral service station but will supply a fleet of test vehicles with hydrogen, alongside “normal” everyday operation selling conventional fuels. There will also be a car wash, information centre and workshop. The use of fuels from biological sources as an interim solution on the way to pure hydrogen technology will also be tested.
The CEP’s car makers will operate a test fleet initially consisting of 16 hydrogen-fuelled passenger cars: 10 DaimlerChrysler F-Cell vehicles, two BMW 7 series, three Ford Focus FCEV hybrids and an Opel HydroGen3. The cars will be operated under ‘every day’ conditions and the fleet will be expanded during the course of the project.
Vattenfall Europe will supply certified “green” electricity for hydrogen production. The gaseous hydrogen (GH2) will be generated directly at the filling station by water electrolysis, after which it will be compressed to 350 bar in a Linde pressurising unit; it can be used in this form (CGH2) to power the DaimlerChrysler and Ford vehicles.
Liquid hydrogen (LH2) will also be available at the filling station; it will be produced by Linde and delivered by tanker in refrigerated liquid form at a temperature of –253°C. LH2 will be used in the BMW vehicles with a modified combustion engine and in the Opel fuel cell vehicles.
The project aims to prove the reliability of hydrogen powered vehicles in everyday use and to gauge customer acceptance. Various methods of hydrogen production will be tested and the varying vehicle technologies evaluated. The economic efficiency of the sustainable production of hydrogen as a fuel is also to be investigated.
“The CEP venture is acquiring significance on a national basis as a pilot project of the federal government within the framework of its ‘sustainability strategy for Germany,’ and on a pan-European basis…,” said a government spokeswoman.
In a statement, the federal government said it supports a policy of innovative sustainable transport, and is promoting the market introduction of zero-CO2 vehicles and the establishment of a hydrogen infrastructure.
