Things are tightening up in Europe. From 2021 onwards, European Union legislation mandates that 45 percent of all new buses must be zero-emission vehicles. This figure is set to rise to 65 percent from 2025 onwards. It is part of a plan to combat climate change through a 30 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions from buses and trucks by 2030. The legislation will also improve air quality for citizens in Europe’s cities. Hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles can help on both fronts – helping to solve air quality and climate challenges. After all, the only substance that comes out of the tailpipe of a fuel-cell car is water. Japan was quick to recognize the benefits of H₂ mobility and is well ahead of Europe in building out its H₂ infrastructure. A move that was probably accelerated by the fact that Japan, like several other countries in Asia, has serious smog issues in its many densely populated urban centers. Japan was one of the first in the world to unveil a national hydrogen strategy back in 2017. And it set itself ambitious goals: By 2030, Japan aims to have built an H₂ supply chain which will produce 300,000 tons of hydrogen and to have expanded the reach of H₂ mobility. For instance, the plan includes getting 800,000 fuel-cell cars and 1,200 fuel-cell buses on the road by 2030. Other regions of the world are also investing in H₂ initiatives, developing concrete hydrogen projects and working on building out climate-friendly infrastructures.

The momentum advancing hydrogen infrastructure targeted at local transit networks is similarly strong on the other side of the globe in Asia. Hyundai and Toyota both manufacture fuel cell buses and trucks. “Linde recently built Southeast Asia’s first H₂ fueling station in Malaysia. This facility also serves a local bus fleet and includes integrated on-site production of hydrogen by means of electrolysis,” elaborates Schaefer. A fueling station in Shanghai, China, also commenced operations, dispensing H₂ for minibuses, trucks and cars. The hydrogen infrastructure in Japan is already extremely mature as the government started implementing its Basic Hydrogen Strategy some time ago. As such, the country is a global pioneer in the widespread adoption of H₂ mobility. Schaefer is particularly keen to highlight the hydrogen fueling station for buses in Tokyo, which opened in January 2020. Equipped with Linde’s innovative, very powerful CP90/100 Cryo Pump, the facility can dispense up to 100 kilograms of H₂ per hour at an inlet pressure of 2 bar only – enough for 30 fuel-cell buses per day. One of the key highlights of this fueling station in Japan is its ability to store H₂ in liquid form on site, which can then be efficiently converted into compressed, gaseous H₂ using Linde’s Cryo Pump technology. Liquid hydrogen (LH₂) is a huge bonus: “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,” explains Schaefer. It also enables larger volumes to be transported more efficiently. “In future, fueling stations overall will have to scale up and be capable of supplying more H₂. They will have to refuel more and larger vehicles such as trucks. And all this has to be done reliably and efficiently,” he continues, before highlighting another challenge: “For the market to take off quickly, costs will have to come down in the medium term. In the case of hydrogen fueling stations, this means standardization. In other words, the market for buses, trucks and trains needs the same standardized, globally valid refueling protocols that already exist for cars. These have to define factors such as the pressure and temperature at which H₂ can be refueled.” Hydrogen opens up great opportunities – and not just for buses. Commercial vehicles can also benefit. Just like buses, municipal waste vehicles, road sweepers and other specialist vehicles follow scheduled routes and are usually served by a central supply station. All of these factors make it easier to set up municipal hydrogen infrastructures.

Mobility experts are looking beyond fuel-cell buses to increasingly also focus on trains. “The benefits are obvious. Trains travel long, plannable routes and are already part of an extensive network. What’s more, in Germany, for example, only around 50 percent of the rail network is electrified,” explains Schaefer. Hydrogen could therefore be an alternative drive technology, especially for diesel locomotives with their poor climate credentials. And the first success story has already been written: the Coradia iLint train manufactured by the company Alstom. It is the world’s first passenger train to be powered by fuel cells and H₂. The train produces no emissions, only steam, and is also very quiet. The Coradia iLint was unveiled at the Innotrans trade show in 2016. It started an 18-month trial period as a regional train, which was successful concluded in February 2020. Linde is playing a key role in this globally acclaimed, innovative project: “In August 2020, we started building a hydrogen fueling station for twelve Coradia iLints in Bremervörde, Germany. It is set to become operational mid-2021,” confirms Schaefer. With a capacity of around 1,600 kilograms of hydrogen a day, this is one of the nominally largest hydrogen fueling stations in the world.

The H₂ fueling station in Bremervörde will lay the foundation for zero-emission hydrogen trains in commercial service throughout the Elbe-Weser public transport network. From the start of 2022, the 24x7 station will be refueling fourteen hydrogen-powered regional trains from Alstom on a daily basis and also on demand. 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 Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) are also currently trialing a Coradia iLint train in regular passenger service in southern Austria. In addition, the Zillertal Railway in Austria wants to invest in hydrogen trains. Introducing hydrogen as a fuel for trains will have a clearly positive impact on the environment as one kilogram of H₂ replaces approximately 4.5 liters of diesel. The trains also require almost a third less energy than diesel-powered trains. Even the maintenance effort is around ten percent lower than their diesel counterparts. And there is potential to leverage synergies with other forms of local transit that start out from train stations. Hydrogen fueling stations for trains could, for example, be used to refuel buses and other municipal vehicles, thus increasing capacity utilization. Bremervörde is certainly in favor of the H₂ concept. The station design already provides for expansion with a view to generating the hydrogen on site using electrolysis and renewable energy. It’s a solution that is guaranteed to keep green H₂ on track.