Hydrogen Stations – fuel stations for hydrogen mobility
Standardised hydrogen filling stations for a range of mobility applications including compression, storage, and dispensing capabilities
Materials handling - Fuel cell industrial trucks, like forklifts or towing trucks, are especially suitable for indoor operation, because they produce no local pollutant emissions and only low noise emissions. Fuel cell vehicles have advantages over battery operated industrial trucks in terms of refuelling. Instead of having to replace the battery, the trucks can be refuelled within two to three minutes. They take up less space and are cheaper to maintain and repair.
Trains - Rail vehicles that use hydrogen as an energy store and energy source can offer an additional alternative where electrification is not possible. Fuel cell-powered rail vehicles combine the advantage of pollutant-free operation with the advantage of low infrastructure costs, comparable with those for diesel or electric operation.
Areospace - In civil aviation, hydrogen powered fuel cells are regarded as potential energy providers for aircraft and have been used in space travel for some time. Fuel cell modules can supply electricity to the aircraft electrical system as emergency generator sets or as an auxiliary power unit. More advanced concepts include starting of the main engine and the nose wheel drive for airfield movements by commercial aircraft.
Shipping vessels – Hydrogen fuel cells are currently being tested as energy providers for the on-board power supply. The use of hydrogen powered fuel cells for ship propulsion, by contrast, is still at an early design or trial phase, with applications in smaller passenger ships, ferries and bulk material vessels.
Trucks - There is an increasing momentum behind the development and commercial use of fuel cell and hydrogen trucks in the heavy-duty vehicle segment. Compared to a battery electric solution, hydrogen fuel cell technology offers longer range, greater power, more payload capability, and faster refuelling. Fuel cell electric vehicles are best positioned to cover long-haul use cases and for weight sensitive use cases. This is because heavy batteries would reduce the potential payload of trucks to a larger extent than would fuel cells and hydrogen tanks.
Buses - Buses in the public transport network are the most thoroughly tested area of application for hydrogen and fuel cells. Since the early 1990s, several hundred buses have been and are being operated with hydrogen worldwide – mainly in North America, Europe and increasingly also in Asia.
Modern fuel cell buses draw their energy from fuel cell stacks, carrying approximately 30 to 50kg of compressed hydrogen on board, stored in pressure tanks at 350 bar. Fuel cell buses now have a range of 300 to 450 km offering almost the same flexibility as diesel buses in day-to-day operation.
Light Vehicles - Along with battery electric vehicles, hydrogen powered fuel cell passenger cars are the only zero emission alternative drive option for motorized private transport. The fuel cell stacks in the latest fuel cell models have an output of 100 kW or more.
Compared with battery electric cars they have a greater range, of around 400 to 500 kilometers today. They also have a lower vehicle weight and much shorter refueling times of three to five minutes. They usually carry 4 to 7 kg of hydrogen on board, stored in pressure tanks at 700 bar.
How does a hydrogen station work?
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can be refuelled quickly and efficiently at a hydrogen refuelling station. This results in an effortless refuelling experience that is comparable to traditional refuelling methods such as petrol or diesel.
Haskel standardized refuelling stations are configured for optimum performance based on the hydrogen inlet pressure. They accept hydrogen from a range of sources, including via Cylinders, tube trailer or generated on-site.
The hydrogen is compressed in various stages, using Haskel’s proven compression technology, to increase the pressure and reduce the volume of the hydrogen. This enables a more efficient flow of gas when dispensing.
A heat exchanger removes the excess heat from the gas that was generated during the compression process. The process is powered, monitored, and controlled via the HPU, PLC and the electronic control panel in the non-hazardous zone.
The hydrogen is cooled to sub-zero temperatures to optimise the fuelling experience and vent lines are situated throughout the system ensure the hydrogen can be removed safely during operation. Specially designed hydrogen compliant valves and fittings are used to control the highly pressurized gas throughout the whole process.
The dispensing process regulates the flow of the gas to enable the hydrogen to be dispensed through a nozzle directly into the vehicle at a controlled pressure and rate.
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Applications for hydrogen stations
Hydrogen fuel is considered a good candidate to contribute to the decarbonisation of the mobility sector if it is produced via renewable energy sources. The main advantages of fuel cell electric vehicles are the zero emission of CO 2 and pollutants and the higher efficiency of fuel cells compared with internal combustion engines.
Hydrogen is used by the vehicle directly as an energy source, both in internal combustion engines and in fuel cells, where the fuel cell uses the chemical energy of hydrogen to cleanly and efficiently produce electricity.
Haskel hydrogen stations are used to fuel a range of hydrogen fuelled vehicles.
Our innovative standard range of complete hydrogen fuelling stations includes Nano, Nano Pro and Geno for large and small fleets.
Haskel hydrogen stations are modular in design, offering cost effective and reliable refuelling options at 350 and 700 bar. They can be scaled to meet project requirements as usage grows. As leading experts in high-pressure gas compression and transfer, we are ideally positioned to support hydrogen refuelling requirements globally.