On the finish of March, hydrogen refuelling stations in a number of German cities—together with Neuruppin, Bonn, Flensburg, Geisingen, Potsdam, Ulm, Siegen, Aachen, Unhealthy Rappenau, Heidelberg, and Mönchengladbach—are set to shut. The corporate, H2 Mobility, has not disclosed which areas shall be impacted within the upcoming spherical of closures by the tip of the second quarter. The H2 Mobility map at present solely signifies the stations slated to go offline on the finish of the primary quarter.
This closure of twenty-two stations marks the completion of a consolidation course of that started in 2022. H2 Mobility had already shut down a number of areas firstly of 2024, together with the one hydrogen refuelling station in Rhineland-Palatinate at the moment, with six extra stations closing on the finish of 2024.
The explanations behind these closures stay constant: “Older, smaller refuelling stations centered on passenger automobiles, a few of that are over 10 years previous and don’t meet at this time’s technical or financial requirements, should be faraway from the community when essential,” acknowledged Martin Jüngel, Managing Director & CFO of H2 Mobility. He added that H2 Mobility, now celebrating its tenth anniversary, has noticed vital modifications within the hydrogen mobility market in Germany, prompting a strategic shift in the direction of regional, demand-based enlargement of hydrogen infrastructure for each mild and heavy business automobiles.
Refuelling business automobiles necessitates particular technical and structural modifications, corresponding to taller filling station roofs and bigger apron areas to accommodate vehicles. Moreover, these stations should be able to storing and shelling out bigger portions of hydrogen. H2 Mobility notes that many older stations designed solely for passenger automobiles can’t be up to date to satisfy these necessities. If a station can’t be retrofitted, it’s faraway from this system, significantly because the low adoption of hydrogen automobiles in Germany makes worthwhile operation difficult.
To take care of a community for gas cell automobiles, H2 Mobility is reportedly engaged in discussions with varied market members. This may increasingly open the likelihood for continued operation at some areas; nonetheless, no agreements have been finalized, and the filling stations shall be quickly taken offline as scheduled.
H2 Mobility envisions its future in bigger stations that provide 350-, 500-, and 700-bar refuelling capabilities, like these being developed in Düsseldorf and Ludwigshafen. Whereas H2 automobiles can refuel at 700-bar stations, the main focus is now totally on 350-bar refuelling for buses and business automobiles. Jüngel talked about that the share of 350-bar refuelling is repeatedly rising, with expectations that almost all of gross sales will come from this demand by year-end.
By the tip of June, eleven extra stations are anticipated to comply with, as H2 Mobility plans to pay attention primarily on catering to business automobiles, which have completely different refuelling wants. The corporate is in discussions with a number of market gamers to probably take over among the automotive refuelling stations.
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