Hydrogen: The future is the present
The opening of the world's first Avia hydrogen filling station in St. Gallen marked the second public filling station in Switzerland after Coop in Hunzenschwil (since 2016). At the station in St. Gallen, Bertrand Piccard gave the starting signal "for an ecological cycle that will lead road transport on a promising path toward the energy transition.
Bertrand Piccard gave the go-ahead for the hydrogen filling station in St. Gallen.By the end of 2020, public hydrogen filling stations will be in operation on the Lake Constance - Lake Geneva axis in St. Gallen (SG), Rümlang (ZH), Hunzenschwil (AG), Zofingen (AG), Bern (BE) and Crissier (VD). In its current issue (UP 2020_02), Umwelt Perspektiven reports in detail on the advantages of hydrogen-powered trucks. At the new hydrogen filling station in St. Gallen, green hydrogen is available for commercial vehicles (350 bar) and passenger cars (700 bar). Osterwalder St. Gallen AG is the first filling station to offer the green hydrogen with the designation H2 Zero. Colleagues from autosprint.ch were on site and have summarized the most important developments.
Unique achievement of the private sector
Bertrand Piccard: "What the Swiss private sector is creating is unique in the world. Some believed that the hydrogen industry was pure utopia. But Switzerland is proving that electrically powered commercial vehicles and passenger cars can be fueled with clean hydrogen and driven without CO2 emissions."
Electrically driven trucks
After a pilot phase lasting several years, the members of the H2 Mobility Switzerland promotional association and their partner companies are ramping up the new electric mobility system in Switzerland.
This enables CO2-free operation of electrically powered commercial vehicles and passenger cars that run on green hydrogen as an energy storage medium.
How the mobility system works
Hydrospider, Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM), the Förderverein H2 Mobilität Schweiz and H2 Energy are currently building zero-emission electromobility in Switzerland. The basis for this is provided by an ecosystem that unites various players in one system.
Every part of this cycle, from the energy source to production and use in the electric vehicle, functions without CO2 emissions.
Manufacture exclusively Switzerland
The closed cycle begins with the production of green hydrogen by Hydrospider AG. In advance, this takes place in a production plant at the Alpiq hydropower plant in Gösgen (SO).
The hydrogen is produced exclusively with the help of electricity from renewable energies (water, sun, wind) in Switzerland - and is therefore emission-free and climate-friendly. This is completely green hydrogen.
1600 fuel cell electric trucks
Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility AG imports up to 1600 fuel cell electric trucks by 2025. Hydrogen supply, construction of the commercial vehicles, infrastructure and filling station network for the first 50 Hyundai Xcient Fuel Cell trucks are prepared. The 36-ton trailer trucks are expected to be on Swiss roads before the end of 2020.
The members of the Förderverein H2 Mobilität Schweiz are deploying the commercial vehicles and setting up the nationwide refueling infrastructure with 350 bar and 700 bar (for commercial vehicles and passenger cars).
Advantages of hydrogen electromobility
Hyundai and Toyota already offer standard electric passenger cars in Switzerland that are fueled with hydrogen.
Advantages of hydrogen electromobility: local and independent production, zero-emission mobility (water vapor instead of exhaust fumes), electric motor propulsion (quiet and efficient), rapid refueling (compared with conventional vehicles), and a long range.
The future is already present these days.
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