Hydrogen Refueling Technology

Alstom

Linde has started building the world’s first hydrogen refueling station for passenger trains, in Bremervörde, Germany. The Coradia iLint train manufactured by Alstom is the world’s first passenger train to be powered by fuel cells and hydrogen. The station, which is planned to start operations in 2022, will serve 14 hydrogen-powered passenger trains. The project is co-funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure within the scope of the National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology.

The H₂ refueling station in Bremervörde will lay the foundation for zero-emission hydrogen trains in commercial service throughout the Elbe-Weser public transport network. With a range of 1,000 kilometers, the multiple-unit trains will be able to travel the network run by the Verkehrsbetriebe Elbe-Weser GmbH (evb) transport authority for an entire day on just one tank. 

The hydrogen refueling station will have a capacity of around 1,600 kilograms of hydrogen per day, making it one of the largest hydrogen stations in terms of nameplate capacity ever built. It will be constructed with scope for future on-site hydrogen generation using electrolysis and renewable energy. Bremervörde’s station design already provides for expansion with the potential to leverage synergies with other forms of transport. The Hydrogen refueling station could, for example, be used in the future to refuel buses and other municipal vehicles, thus increasing capacity utilization. 

The Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) are also currently conducting a trial run of a Coradia iLint train in regular passenger service in southern Austria. 

• California: The public transit agency AC Transit operates the hydrogen refueling station in Emeryville, California. It is the first publicly accessible refueling station in the San Francisco Bay Area. The facility can refill 12 buses with 30 kilograms of H₂ every day. Part of the H₂ is produced by solar-powered electrolysis. Fuel-cell cars can also use the station.
• Italy: Up to 15 of the 96 city buses in Bolzano, Italy, can be powered by hydrogen. The fuel-cell vehicles travel 200 kilometers a day before they need to be refueled. The hydrogen is produced by electrolysis powered by energy from certifiable renewable sources for zero emissions from source to service.
• Wiesbaden, Germany: The H₂ refueling station for buses in Wiesbaden, Germany, is supplied with green hydrogen by the power-to-gas plant in nearby Mainz. In eight hours, 300 kilograms of H₂ can be provided – enough for eight fuel cell buses.
• Cologne, Germany: A hydrogen refueling station for Europe’s largest H2 bus fleet was opened in Cologne. The facility can refuel up to 20 vehicles a day.
• Tokyo: The hydrogen refueling station for buses in Tokyo opened in January 2020. The facility can dispense up to 100 kilograms of H₂ per hour – enough for 30 fuel-cell buses per day. One of the key highlights of this refueling station in Japan is its ability to store H₂ in liquid form onsite, which can then be efficiently converted into compressed, gaseous H₂ using Linde’s Cryo Pump. Liquid hydrogen (LH₂) has a higher energy density. This means that much more hydrogen can be stored in a small area. This is a huge advantage in mega cities like Tokyo where space is scarce and very expensive.
• Scotland: The H₂ refueling station for buses in Aberdeen has a compact design, enabling it to be seamlessly integrated into the local infrastructure. The plant can generate up to 360 kilograms of green hydrogen every day, which is enough to fuel over 15 buses. The green hydrogen is made using electrolysis and renewable energy.
• Malaysia: Linde built Southeast Asia’s first H₂ refueling station in Sarawak, Malaysia. This facility serves a local bus fleet and includes integrated an on-site electrolysis unit to produce green hydrogen.
• China: A fueling station in Shanghai, China, commenced operations, dispensing H₂ for minibuses, trucks and cars.

Daimler

Linde has signed an agreement with Daimler Truck AG, one of the world's largest manufacturers of commercial vehicles, to jointly develop the next generation of hydrogen fueling technology for fuel cell-powered heavy-duty vehicles. Together, the companies will develop fueling technology based on subcooled liquid hydrogen (sLH₂), which allows for higher on-board capacity, greater range, faster refueling and superior energy efficiency.

The new fueling process will be implemented in the series version of the Mercedes-Benz GenH₂ Truck, which was unveiled in September 2020 as a concept vehicle, and will have a range of more than 1,000 kilometers. The companies plan for the first refueling of a prototype vehicle at a pilot station to take place in Germany in 2023.

BMW

BMW’s manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, replaced lead-acid batteries in its material handling fleet with hydrogen fuel cells. The forklifts and trucks service the plant's production and logistics functions by delivering process parts to assembly machines throughout the plant.

Linde supplied a hydrogen fueling system with six indoor dispenser stations to support more than 100 pieces of material handling equipment operating inside BMW's plant, including two new higher-throughput compressors, new storage tubes and distribution piping, and eight new hydrogen dispensers.

The green hydrogen used in the fuel cells is a by-product of a sodium chlorate plant that Linde purifies, compresses and liquefies using electricity produced from renewable hydropower.

Norled

Hydrogen will play a significant role in the future of zero-emission ships. A first step in developing the marine sector’s transition to climate friendly fuels was the selection of Linde by Norwegian ferry operator Norled to supply liquid hydrogen and related infrastructure to the world's first operational hydrogen-powered ferry, which will transport both cars and passengers.

Linde will provide a full-service solution to the MF Hydra ferry in Norway. Liquid hydrogen will be supplied from Linde's new 24MW electrolyzer at the Leuna Chemical Complex in Germany, which will use PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) technology to produce green hydrogen. Linde will also build and install onshore and onboard hydrogen storage, distribution and safety equipment. Supply of hydrogen is scheduled to commence in 2022, at which point the fuel-cell powered ferry will reduce its annual carbon emissions by up to 95%.