Self-sufficient refuelling station for green hydrogen
A self-sufficient refuelling station for green hydrogen will come to Utrecht in early 2022. Entrepreneurs in the Lage Weide business park have taken the initiative. It will be a hydrogen filling station with an electrolyser where local green hydrogen will be produced with green electricity. The municipality of Utrecht has now granted the necessary subsidy for this.
ERDF grant
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen of the Municipality of Utrecht has granted € 848,000 subsidy for the realisation of a hydrogen filling station where green hydrogen will soon be produced locally with green electricity by means of an electrolyser. At the same time, the project will invest in hydrogen-powered means of transport. The grant comes from a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) scheme. The municipality did this under the Operational Programme Opportunities for West II.
Sustainable entrepreneurs
The plan to realise a hydrogen filling station and electrolyser for the production of green hydrogen at the Lage Weide business park is an initiative of a number of sustainable entrepreneurs in Utrecht, namely Henk Stamhuis (Stamhuis Groep), Berend Schols (ProfiNRG BV) , Cor bij de Weg (EJP Accountants | advisers) together with Ruben Vrijhoef (Utrecht University of Applied Sciences) and Bert Strijker (EnergieCollectief Utrechtse Bedrijven (ECUB). Together, the entrepreneurs form the 'H2 Pioneers'. For the technical, economic and sustainable scaling-up possibilities and improvement of efficiency, Utrecht University of Applied Sciences is a partner in the project. ECUB, a cooperative that helps entrepreneurs with sustainable measures, is the project's coordinator and initiator.
Entrepreneurs jointly owned
Entrepreneurs in Utrecht and its surroundings participate in a holding company 'H2 Pioneers' and jointly become owners of the hydrogen filling station and electrolyser. They also commit to purchasing one or more hydrogen vehicles. With this project, the initiators aim to solve the chicken-and-egg dilemma surrounding hydrogen refuelling stations and hydrogen vehicles. No hydrogen vehicles without a hydrogen refuelling station, and vice versa.
Heavy and light transport
The station will have a 350-bar and a 700-bar refuelling facility, allowing both light and heavier vehicles to refuel. Storage in a mobile container will additionally enable the transport of the hydrogen produced, allowing other customers elsewhere in the city and region to be served. This could include shipping, forklift and terminal tractors or other transport on own premises.
Planning
A permit process has now started. Various studies are also being carried out. The electrolyser and hydrogen filling station at the Lage Weide industrial estate are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2021 or early 2022 at the latest. Whether the schedule will be met depends, among other things, on the licensing process.
