Today, the first Dutch hydrogen filling point for buses and trucks that is publicly accessible was opened on the GZI site in Emmen. Qbuzz is the first and largest customer. The bus company has purchased 10 hydrogen buses, partly financed by the province of Drenthe, to run on the longer lines in regional transport in Drenthe.
“With 32 buses in Groningen and Drenthe, we now have the largest hydrogen fleet in the Netherlands and we can be proud of that. Mobility is the driver of the hydrogen economy. being prepared for the market,” says spokesperson Michel van der Mark of Qbuzz.
Deputy Tjisse Stelpstra calls the opening of the filling point the next step in the application of hydrogen. “We have a leading position in Drenthe when it comes to hydrogen. We want to further strengthen this leading position, preferably across the board. In addition to hydrogen production, I am talking about the application of hydrogen in, for example, the manufacturing industry and mobility.”
Shell sees the hydrogen filling point for freight traffic as a great first step towards a European hydrogen network for heavy road transport. “This will make international freight transport more sustainable,” said a spokesperson.
The hydrogen buses have a range of 400 kilometers and can even drive 600 kilometers in a day with one refueling in between. Refueling takes about 10 minutes. Qbuzz is given priority over any trucks that come to refuel in Emmen. “Our buses run on time and our drivers fill the tank during their shift, so that’s why we have priority over trucks,” says Van der Mark.
A hydrogen filling point exclusively for Qbuzz opened in Groningen last June. At that time, the bus company had already purchased 20 buses for Groningen. Qbuzz also has a large fleet of electric buses that have a range of 300 kilometers and are charged after service. Qbuzz’s next wish is to add a coach to the fleet that can cover 800 kilometers a day.
The hydrogen economy barely exists at the moment. “We have a factory in Germany where we make green hydrogen on a small scale. But we are working within the international consortium NortH2 on scaling up the capacity to 4GW green hydrogen by 2030. Then you really have a hydrogen economy on a regional scale,” said Shell. .
For passenger cars that run on hydrogen, the number of filling stations is already much more numerous. The pressure at filling points for passenger cars is 700 bar and for freight traffic it is 350 bar. It is expected that new hydrogen filling points for freight traffic will be added in Pesse and Assen in the short term.