State Secretary Van Geel first user ECN hydrogen filling station
On Friday 27th October State Secretary Van Geel of the Ministry of the Environment set the ECN Hydrogen Filling Station into use. This unique filling station will be used for the HydroGEM, the first hydrogen-powered fuel cell car built in the Netherlands. Van Geel also made a tour on the premises of ECN. And he received the reports 'Hydrogen: fuel for transition' and 'Hydrogen on the road to practical use’.
Frank de Bruijn, ECN manager Hydrogen & Clean Fossil Fuels: "The filling station enables us to fill up our hydrogen vehicle on our own site. By using the vehicle and the filling station on a daily basis we can gain valuable practical experience. And by demonstrating the technology we expect it will be easier to convince others that the technology is sufficiently mature that they can start using a utility vehicle of this kind, or to motivate them to play a role in the further development and commercialisation of hydrogen technology."
State Secretary Van Geel opens the hydrogen filling
station at the ECN site.
The HydroGEM is being used by ECN’s Facilities Department, making it the first hydrogen-powered utility vehicle in operational service in the Netherlands. The car is a modified version of an existing electric service vehicle, the DaimlerChrysler GEM. The standard GEM is powered by a traction battery, the capacity of which restricts the car's operating range and necessitates regular and lengthy recharging from the grid. The new version developed by ECN has a far greater range and can be refuelled quickly.
The ECN hydrogen filling station.
The ECN hydrogen filling station is an Air Products development. It is especially designed for small-scale applications and is built using standard components such as to keep development costs low. The hydrogen supplied by Air Products is manufactured from natural gas. The hydrogen tank at the filling station contains about 1,600 litres (two 800-litre packages) stored at a relatively low pressure of 200 bars. Refuelling with hydrogen takes five to ten minutes. The vehicle has an electronically limited maximum speed of 40kph and a payload of up to 400kg. The HydroGEM is quiet, extremely clean and can be used on platforms, in halls, nature areas, stations and hospitals.
On top of the official opening of the ECN Hydrogen Filling Station, Ulco Vermeulen, Chairman of the New Gas Transition Platform, presented the report ‘Hydrogen: Fuel for Transitions’. In it the New Gas Platform sets out its vision for the future of hydrogen, future applications and the work that needs to be done to make this vision reality. The report’s main conclusion is that hydrogen can contribute to increasing energy supply security, improving air quality (especially in urban areas) and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2. Hydrogen also offers major innovations opportunities for the Dutch supply and manufacturing industry.
In April this year, ECN and the European Union's Joint Research Centre (JRC-IE) at their research facility in Petten organised a well-attended open day for administrators and local government officers. The joint ECN - JRC-IE report ‘Hydrogen on the road to practical use’ features presentations about the regulatory and safety aspects of hydrogen propulsion technology, practical experiences with it and licensing matters.
Contact:
Frank de Bruijn
ECN Hydrogen & Clean Fossil Fuels
Tel. +31 (0)224 – 56 4086
debruijn@remove-this-part-ecn.nl
