NEWS
H2 Mobility and Linde have also opened a investigation into the explosion at the
hydrogen station in Herten, at the h2herten
user centre [see the h2herten feature in April
2013]; this is close to the A2 motorway and
the Recklinghausen junction, and the A43
motorway. The station, using Linde’s IC 90
ionic compressor, is also funded by the FCH2
JU as part of the H2ME project.
The fifth new station in NRW is in a
southern district of the state capital Düsseldorf,
and is the second Air Liquide station in the
city, joining the one on Höherweg. The station
is located on a publicly accessible part of the
Henkel site, on Oerschbachstrasse in Düsseldorf-
Holthausen, close to the A46/A59 Düsseldorf-
Süd motorway junction. The station was built
as part of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP),
with around E700 000 ($790 000) of subsidy
support from BMVI’s NIP initiative.
Meanwhile, H2 Mobility, Shell and Linde have
inaugurated a hydrogen station in Handewitt, the
first in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein.
The facility at the Shell station on Lecker Chaussee
is located by the Flensburg/Harrislee exit of the
BAB7 motorway, a link on routes from Hamburg
to Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The facility is
equipped with the Linde IC 90 ionic compressor,
and holds around 200 kg of hydrogen. It is funded
by the TEN-T CEF initiative as part of the
COHRS project. Further stations are being planned
in the state, for example in Westre (North Frisia
district) and Brunsbüttel (Dithmarschen district).
H2 Mobility Deutschland: https://h2.live/en
Linde, Hydrogen Energy:
http://tinyurl.com/linde-hydrogen-energy-h2
National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel
Cell Technology: http://tinyurl.com/nip-h2fc-tech
Air Liquide, Hydrogen Energy:
http://tinyurl.com/hydrogen-energy-airliquide
Total Germany, Electric Mobility:
https://tinyurl.com/total-h2-mobility
Connecting Hydrogen Refuelling Stations:
www.cohrs-project.eu/english
Shell Global, Hydrogen: http://tinyurl.com/shell-h2
StreetScooter GmbH: www.streetscooter.eu
Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking:
www.fch.europa.eu
Hydrogen Mobility Europe: www.h2me.eu
Clean Energy Partnership:
www.cleanenergypartnership.de/en
Nel investigation into
explosion at Kjørbo
hydrogen station
N orwegian-based Nel ASA has
released the findings of an
July 2019
of Milan. Eni is awaiting permission to start
Uno-X hydrogen refueling station in
Kjørbo, in the Oslo suburb of Sandvika,
on 10 June, which has been attributed
to an assembly error of a specific plug in
a high-pressure hydrogen storage tank.
The preliminary investigation by safety
consultancy Gexcon shows that the incident
started with a hydrogen leak from a plug in one
of the tanks in the high-pressure storage unit.
This leak created a mixture of hydrogen and
air that ignited and created a pressure wave;
the investigation will continue into the specific
source of ignition. The low-pressure steel and
composite storage units were neither the source
of the leak, nor the ignition source, and no
tanks ruptured in the incident.
According to police reports no one was
injured onsite, although two people were treated
for minor injuries after airbags deployed in their
car nearby. Uno-X installed the H2Station®
system at Kjørbo in 2016 [FCB, December
2016, p10]; the facility includes a containerised,
pressurised alkaline electrolyser that produces
hydrogen onsite in part from solar power.
Nel has initiated an inspection and integrity
verification programme for high-pressure storage
units with similar plugs, as well as a programme
outlining new assembly, verification, and
documentation procedures. Previous generation
stations, as well as stations in the US and South
Korea, have a different concept and design for
the high-pressure storage units, so leakage of
the kind experienced at Kjørbo cannot occur
at these stations. Hydrogen refueling stations
manufactured by Nel [see also page 15] were
temporarily closed as a precaution, including
four stations in Germany managed by H2
Mobility Deutschland.
Nel ASA: www.nelhydrogen.com
Uno-X: www.unox.no [in Norwegian]
H2 Mobility Deutschland: https://h2.live/en
Eni, Toyota partner to
accelerate hydrogen
fueling, FCEVs in Italy
I
talian oil & gas multinational Eni
has announced a collaborative
agreement with Japanese automaker
Toyota, to speed up the expansion of
hydrogen fueling stations and more
widespread use of fuel cell electric
vehicles in Italy.
The first phase of the project involves
opening Eni’s first hydrogen refueling
station, at the company’s new service station in
San Donato Milanese, near the northern city
work on the station, which will be a multi-
purpose facility integrated with the architecture
of the new Eni Management Headquarters,
currently under construction. The station will
sell premium petroleum products, along with
biomethane, electricity, and zero-emissions
hydrogen, which will be produced onsite
through water electrolysis using renewable
energy. If the San Donato project is successful,
Eni will make hydrogen available at other
stations in its network in the next few years.
Toyota’s role in the project is providing its
expertise and delivering a fleet of 10 Toyota
Mirai FCEVs [see also next item and page 2]
that will refuel at the Eni station; the vehicles’
users will be chosen in the coming months.
In other news, Eni and NextChem – the
‘green’ chemistry subsidiary of Italian engineering
company Maire Tecnimont – are partnering
to develop and implement a high-temperature
gasification technology to produce hydrogen
and methanol from solid urban waste and non-
recyclable plastic. Eni is interested in evaluating
the ‘Waste to Hydrogen’ project at its bio-refinery
in Porto Marghera, Venice, and has carried out a
feasibility study in collaboration with NextChem.
Toyota Europe, Mirai:
https://tinyurl.com/toyota-europe-mirai
Eni: www.eni.com
NextChem: www.nextchem.it
Enagás, Toyota and
Urbaser plan first
hydrogen station for
cars in Spain
S
panish natural gas grid operator
Enagás and its venture capital
subsidiary Enagás Emprende have signed
an agreement with Toyota España and
waste treatment company Urbaser, to
install a hydrogen refueling station and
commission Madrid’s first fleet of Toyota
Mirai fuel cell electric vehicles.
The hydrogen station will be located at the
San Antonio SL service station on Avenida
de Manoteras in northern Madrid, and will
serve the fleet of 12 Mirai FCEVs provided by
Toyota Spain for use by the partners in this
pioneering Spanish initiative [see also above item
and page 2]. It will have a hydrogen supply
capacity of 10 kg/day, and refuel the vehicles at
700 bar.
Enagás is part of a consortium planning to
develop a ‘green’ hydrogen generation plant to
supply a fleet of public transport buses on the
island of Mallorca (also known as Majorca)
7
Fuel Cells Bulletin
 NEWS
[FCB, February 2019, p11], and is participating
in the H2Ports project that is working to
incorporate hydrogen energy to reduce the
environmental impact of operations at the Port
Authority of Valencia [February 2019, p3].
Enagás: www.enagas.es
Enagás Emprende: https://emprende.enagas.es/en
Urbaser: www.urbaser.com/en
Toyota Europe, Mirai:
https://tinyurl.com/toyota-europe-mirai
Toyota España: www.toyota.es [in Spanish]
Air Liquide develops
portable hydrogen
station for US mobility
A ir Liquide has designed and
developed a portable hydrogen
refueling station that will be launched
in the US, to meet customer and
market needs and support the
development of the national hydrogen
energy mobility market.
The all-in-one portable hydrogen refueling
station developed by Air Liquide Advanced
Technologies US LLC can supply gaseous
hydrogen at a nominal pressure of 700 bar. The
compact size and ease of mobility make the
system an ideal solution for sites that require a
temporary installation or a connection to the
hydrogen energy infrastructure for small fleet
usage, vehicle testing, or location testing.
All of the components for a complete
hydrogen station, including the dispenser, are
integrated into the single skid, which facilitates
easy installation with minimal preparation
at the site. Air Liquide offers add-ons to the
portable refueling station, with the option
to increase capacity, improved back-to-back
performance, and the installation of a point-of-
sale facility for public use.
The station’s fueling times follow the SAE
J2601 protocol for H70-T40 fills of light-
duty vehicles, i.e. fast-fueling at 70 MPa (700
bar) and −40°C [FCB, April 2014, p9]. The
performance of the portable refueling station
is easily comparable to a standard permanent
hydrogen station, with a fueling capacity of
up to 200 kg/day and up to five fills per hour,
with the capability for 2–7 kg per fill.
Earlier this year Air Liquide Advanced
Technologies US ordered a transportable high-
pressure hydrogen tank system from Hexagon
Composites, for use in a mobile hydrogen
refueling trailer [February 2019, p10]. The
company is also building the first world-scale
liquid hydrogen production unit dedicated to
8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
the hydrogen energy markets, in the western US,
working in partnership with US retail hydrogen
leader FirstElement Fuel in California [December
2018, p10]. The company has also recently
supplied hydrogen technology for new refueling
stations in Germany [see page 6].
Air Liquide Advanced Technologies:
https://advancedtech.airliquide.com
Air Liquide, Hydrogen Energy:
http://tinyurl.com/hydrogen-energy-airliquide
H2 Refuel Accelerator
winners to innovate
in supply chain tech
S even early-stage companies have
been selected as the winners
of the H2 Refuel Accelerator in the
US, which identifies innovative
solutions to increase the adoption of
hydrogen infrastructure and supply
chain technologies. The initiative is
a unique collaboration between the
Urban Future Lab, Greentown Labs and
the Fraunhofer TechBridge Program,
sponsored by Shell, Toyota, and the
New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA).
The accelerator programme received 63
applications from around the world, which
underwent an intensive and multistage review
process to select the seven winners:
• Celadyne Technologies (www.celadynetech.
com): Nanocomposite membranes for high-
performance electrolysers and fuel cells with
simple heat and water management.
• Ecolectro (www.ecolectro.com):
Commercialising alkaline exchange materials
that make electrolysers and fuel cells less
expensive and longer lasting.
• Electro-Active Technologies (www.electroactive.
tech): Renewable hydrogen from organic
waste via a coupled bio-electrochemical
process at high electrical efficiency.
• Hygen (www.hygengroup.com): Its
supercharger, connected to the regular
natural gas grid, refuels gas-powered vehicles
at home/office in just a few minutes.
• pH Matter (www.phmatter.com): Catalyst
materials and unique cell design that enable low-
cost hydrogen generation for energy storage.
• Protium Innovations (www.
protiuminnovations.com): Lightweight liquid
hydrogen storage tanks and fueling solutions
for reliable hydrogen-electric vehicles.
• Skyre (www.skyre-inc.com): A leader in
converting waste hydrogen and CO2 into
economic opportunity.
The awards to the winning startups include
support from the Greentown Labs and
Urban Future Lab acceleration programmes,
and technical validation services from the
Fraunhofer R&D network. The combination
of incubation space, services, and technical
capacity provided by the partners offers one
of the most successful technology acceleration
models in the US. NYSERDA is supporting
the H2 Refuel Accelerator through its ACRE
incubator at the Urban Future Lab.
Urban Future Lab, New York University Tandon School
of Engineering: www.ufl.nyc
Greentown Labs: www.greentownlabs.com
Fraunhofer TechBridge Program:
www.fraunhofer.org/en/fraunhofer-techbridge-
program.html
NYSERDA: www.nyserda.ny.gov
Saudi Aramco opens
first hydrogen station
with Air Products, signs
Hyundai MOU
T he Saudi Arabian national
petroleum and natural gas company
Saudi Aramco has partnered with
US-based Air Products to inaugurate
the first hydrogen refueling station in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), at
Air Products’ new Technology Center
in the Dhahran Techno Valley Science
Park, Eastern Province. Saudi Aramco
has also signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with Hyundai Motor
Company in South Korea, creating a
framework to accelerate expansion of a
hydrogen ecosystem in the Korean and
Saudi Arabian markets.
The new hydrogen refueling station
combines Saudi Aramco’s industrial and
technological experience with Air Products’
know-how and experience in the field of
hydrogen fueling [FCB, February 2019, p9].
This pilot station represents the first step in
developing oil-based hydrogen transport within
the Kingdom, and will supply an initial fleet of
six Toyota Mirai fuel cell electric vehicles with
high-purity compressed hydrogen.
Air Products’ proprietary SmartFuel®
hydrogen fueling technology will be
incorporated into the new station. The data
collected during the initial phase of this
project will provide valuable information for
the assessment of future applications of this
emerging transport technology in the local
environment.
Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco’s MOU with
Hyundai Motor will provide a framework
July 2019