Heidelberg– Today, the public hydrogen filling station of H2 MOBILITY was officially put into operation as part of the company performance for buses with an alternative drive of Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (rnv).
The new public hydrogen filling station offers a capacity of more than 1,000 kg of hydrogen per day, three dispensers and – in addition to the refuelling capacity for the 27 fuel cell range-extender articulated joints of the rnv – further refuelling options for H2 vehicles from the region. The petrol station is operated by H2 MOBILITY and was also developed and built by the company. As part of the gradual commissioning, passenger cars (700 bar) and truck (350 bar) are expected to be able to fill up publicly at Wieblinger Weg 92 from May 2024. The hydrogen filling station is then also used by the Heidelberg waste collection industry, which has had an emission-free vehicle with fuel cell drive in the fleet since March 2023. Due to the direct proximity to the A5 and the city, the hydrogen filling station is conveniently located.
“The new rnvhof shows that the entry into the hydrogen economy has been achieved in the metropolitan region! Thanks to the funding of the H2Rhein-Neckar project, which is worth 16.7 million euros by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment, hydrogen will be experienced for citizens in climate-friendly public transport on site. In conjunction with the federal-funded H2Rivers project, a hydrogen ecosystem with a lighthouse character is being created here in the region. The hydrogen, which can be fuelled at the Heidelberg depot, is coming off the Friesenheim Island in Mannheim on a short time,” says . “A successful rampage of the hydrogen economy is of central importance for Baden-Württemberg – both to achieve the climate targets and to secure the industrial location. Pioneering projects such as in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region are making decisive progress,” explains the State Secretary.
The accompanying research in the H2Rhein-Neckar project also enables other regions to benefit from the experience. On the basis of the new depot, among other things, it will be analysed what processes for buses with alternative drives look ideally to support bus operations in the transformation.
“A climate-friendly public transport is essential for sustainable mobility. Bus traffic, in which the Clean Vehicle Directive gives clear targets for electrification, offers a lever for this purpose. Only if we reduce emissions can the climate targets be achieved. rnv is making emission-free mobility into reality on site. The new depot creates the necessary infrastructural framework conditions for the use of alternative drives,” adds Elke Zimmer, State Secretary in the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport. “In order to enable the mobility transition to be achieved nationwide, the experience from pioneering projects such as here needs to be continued. In addition to the accompanying research, the network zero-emission buses, which the state agency e-mobil BW coordinates and offers public transport operators and municipalities a forum for exchanging experiences,” continues Ms. Zimmer.
27 articulated buses of the type H2-eCitaro, which Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr GmbH (rnv) is procured as part of the H2Rhein-Neckar funding project in Heidelberg, switched off at the depot, refuelled with hydrogen and charged with electricity. The project volume for the new depot is 24.5 million. €, including planning costs. The public hydrogen filling station and parts of the infrastructure are funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector via the H2Rhein-Neckar hydrogen demonstration project.
Public hydrogen filling station for public transport, commercial vehicles and passenger cars
Frank Fronzke, Managing Director and COO of H2 MOBILITY explains: “In Heidelberg, one of the most important petrol station projects of the year is officially starting operations today. The hydrogen filling station stands for a number of H2 MOBILITY reopenings and is the first of our four new stations in the Rhine-Neckar region.” Further public hydrogen filling stations, which H2 MOBILITY will build and operate in the region, will be built in Mannheim by summer 2024, by the end of 2024 in Frankenthal and in Ludwigshafen until the beginning of 2025. “The size and performance of the new stations stand for a new generation of H2 filling stations. Using powerful technology, several 350 and 700 bar vehicle types are refueling at the same location – buses, trucks, light commercial vehicles and passenger cars. The location in Heidelberg and the upcoming new openings show how important partnerships are with local actors who are resolutely driving the mobility transition. The cooperation is currently creating a powerful, nationwide network of filling stations for public transport, transport logistics and private vehicles in this region. We are happy to contribute to the development of a high level of security of supply and to ensure high availability with our experienced team.”
Mobility with hydrogen becomes tangible
The H2-eCitaros use both the battery and the fuel cell as an engine, which enables a greater range and thus emission-free bus services, even on longer and hilly sections, as are common in Heidelberg, for example. From June 2024, the new vehicles in Heidelberg will be driving on line so that citizens can experience mobility with hydrogen for themselves. Previously, the tank system, vehicles and processes will be extensively tested on the new depot in the next few weeks and the staff will be trained.
“The hydrogen industry offers Heidelberg many new opportunities and opportunities for an attractive mobility transition: With the hydrogen buses, we can make the Heidelberg bus network more modern and environmentally friendly. This will benefit us in Heidelberg trail, which is demanding too graph,” says Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain, Mayor for Climate Protection, Environment and Mobility. “In addition, the city of Heidelberg and the rnv, with the buses, are also noticeably developing the already existing hydrogen fleet in the city, which already counts six hydrogen vehicles. Private individuals and companies can also benefit from these opportunities in the Wiebling depot. The infrastructure offers them the opportunity to switch to environmentally friendly hydrogen technology with their vehicles. This means that we are also investing in the future of the city and the region,” explains Schmidt-Lamontain.
“Together with the procurement of hydrogen buses for Heidelberg, Ludwigshafen and Mannheim, the rnv hydrogen company farm in Heidelberg, Ludwigshafen and Mannheim is an important milestone on the way to climate-neutral public transport. The H2Rhein-Neckar and H2Rivers projects as well as the new depot with a public hydrogen filling station also contribute to the development of a hydrogen-based value chain throughout the region,” says the Mannheim Lord Mayor and rnv Supervisory Board chairman Christian Specht and emphasises: “This shows: rnv, the cities and the region are pulling together for decarbonisation and the energy transition.”
“Although it is always more environmentally friendly to use bus or train instead of our own car, we do not want to rest on this ecology lead. Our goal is therefore to convert our entire vehicle fleet to locally emission-free drives by 2032. We are open to technology and rely on conventional E-buses as well as on e-buses with fuel cells. Depending on what makes more sense among local conditions,” says Christian Volz, Commercial Director of rnv. “In Heidelberg, we have comparatively long bus routes, some of which also have to master some meters of altitude. In addition, we in Heidelberg use many articulated buses for capacity reasons, where the use of a fuel cell makes sense due to its weight alone. Accordingly, the lion’s share of our new H2 eCitaros is used here,” continues Volz. “For this reason, I am pleased that we can now open our new depot after just over a year and a half construction period. Especially because the construction was not easy due to the combination of two different infrastructures and the difficult market situation.”
Pilot project for hydrogen mobility in the Rhine-Neckar region
In the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, a hydrogen ecosystem is being built with one of the largest demonstration projects for H2 mobility in south-west Germany: the H2Rhein-Neckar and H2Rivers projects test the use of new hydrogen technologies and provide new insights for the development of a regional value chain.
Isabell Knüttgen, head of hydrogen activities at the state agency e-mobil BW explains: “Demonstration projects such as H2Rhein-Neckar and H2Rivers are crucial for the development of a hydrogen economy. They gain important experience for the further development of technologies and form a basic framework for a hydrogen ecosystem to function and grow – this can only be achieved through cooperation along the entire value chain. We see mobility as a pacemaker for the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy, a basic prerequisite for a parallel development of the infrastructure and delivery of vehicles.”
Beyond Heidelberg, local transport can also be experienced with hydrogen mobility in the region: 13 further H2 eCitaros procures the rnv for use in Mannheim and eight for Ludwigshafen. In addition to the buses, the use of hydrogen and fuel cell technology is also being tested in other vehicles, including fuel cell waste collection vehicles.
About H2Rhein-Neckar and H2Rivers
How can hydrogen be produced locally, distributed and used for climate-friendly mobility? This is demonstrated by the funding projects H2Rivers and H2Rhein-Neckar, with a project volume of almost 100 million. €. Hydrogen is generated and distributed by the H2 Hub in Mannheim and hy.waiblingen, then used in fuel cell waste collection vehicles and fuel cell cars, among other things. The conversion of public transport to fuel cell range extender buses also provides important findings for municipalities and bus operators, scientifically evaluated in an accompanying research. The H2Rhein-Neckar project will be paid to 16.7 million € sponsored by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector and coordinated by the State Agency e-mobil BW. H2Rivers will be looking at 20 million € funded by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport and coordinated by the RhineNeckar metropolitan region. Further information is available at www.h2rivers.de
About H2 MOBILITY
H2 MOBILITY Germany is a pioneer in the development of a public hydrogen refuelling network and Europe’s largest operator of public hydrogen stations. The business areas include the technical development, financing, planning, construction, marketing and operation of the stations. H2 MOBILITY Germany was founded in 2015 as a project company with the aim of promoting hydrogen as an emission-free fuel in road traffic. In 2022, the project company became a long-term, economically oriented company with the aim of contributing to the energy transition in transport through a powerful hydrogen filling station network.
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