Avia increases security of supply

Eastern Switzerland is becoming a hydrogen pioneer: in the Gossau industrial district, the 11th Swiss H₂ filling station – it is fully designed for trucks and even allows two trucks to be refuelled at the same time. The Avia filling station also increases regional security of supply for the now 47 fuel cell trucks on Switzerland’s roads.

A Hyundai fuel cell truck refuelling at the new Avia filling station in Gossau SG. Source: CNG-Mobility.ch

Just like trucks powered by CNG and LNG, fuel cell trucks also help reduce CO₂ emissions from freight transport. There are now eleven refuelling stations across Switzerland for the 47 Hyundai fuel cell trucks to date. Logistics specialists and freight forwarders, especially in Eastern Switzerland, are delighted: in addition to the first Avia hydrogen filling station opened in St.Gallen itself in June 2020, a station specially designed for trucks in the industrial area of Gossau (Canton of St.Gallen) is now also supplying vehicles with green hydrogen. “With the new hydrogen filling station for trucks, we are not only demonstrating our commitment to this clean form of electromobility but also meeting a real need,” explains Martin Osterwalder, Co-CEO of the Osterwalder Group. “Local hauliers and retailers use their hydrogen trucks to cover up to 600 kilometres a day, which means they have to refuel once or twice a day. This stretched our hydrogen filling station at Oberstrasse 141 to the limits of its capacity.”

Christoph Eigenmann (Head of Logistics Region Eastern Switzerland-Ticino at Coop), Martin Osterwalder (Co-CEO of the Osterwalder Group), Daniel Balmer (Head of Transport Logistics Genossenschaft Migros Ostschweiz), Beat Huber (Head of Logistics at Spar) and Thomas Osterwalder (Co-CEO of the Osterwalder Group) in front of the new hydrogen filling station in Gossau. (from left to right). Source: CNG-Mobility.ch

Retailers Spar, Coop and Migros are now benefiting from the fact that two fuel cell trucks can be refuelled at 350 bar simultaneously. The new filling station will further increase the availability of green hydrogen in the region. “We are setting the next major milestone this summer with the start of local hydrogen production in Kubel (Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden) in cooperation with St. Gallisch-Appenzellische Kraftwerke AG, the SAK,” adds Osterwalder. Until now, the containers with the hydrogen, which is mostly produced at the Alpiq run-of-river power plant in Gösgen (Canton of Solothurn), still had to be transported over long distances.

The green hydrogen is delivered in containers. Source: CNG-Mobility.ch

The additional refuelling option in Gossau will enable the Osterwalder Group in St.Gallen to supply its growing number of customers with fuel cell cars more effectively and to put a hydrogen-powered electric fast charging station into operation there. “Nobody wants to have to drive into the city in the evening just to refuel,” explains Daniel Balmer, Head of Transport Logistics at Migros Eastern Switzerland. “It’s great for our drivers to now have a filling station here in Gossau, which can even be accessed with a trailer without any problems. This simplifies our planning and logistics processes.” Planning is likely to become even easier for Balmer and his colleagues Christoph Eigenmann (Head of Logistics Region Eastern Switzerland-Ticino at Coop) and Beat Huber (Head of Logistics at Spar), who will also rely on the Hyundai Xcient Fuel Cell when the H₂ filling station in Chur (the next one planned) commences operations. Incidentally, the H₂ filling station in Frenkendorf (Canton of Basel Landschaft) has been in test operation since the beginning of March.

At the filling station in Gossau, two trucks can be supplied with hydrogen at the same time. Source: CNG-Mobility.ch

“Now we just have to do the same thing with biogas,” adds Migros logistics specialist Balmer. “With regionally produced energy sources, we benefit in two ways: on the one hand, green H₂ or biogas will reduce the amount of fossil fuels overall and, on the other, we will thus reduce our geopolitical dependency.” This is another major advantage at the present time, not only for the Hyundai Cent Fuel Cell, but also for the various trucks with a CNG engine and biogas in the tank, which Migros Eastern Switzerland is using, for example.

Among other things, a CNG truck with Swiss biogas in the tank is used to supply the Migros branch in Engadin with fresh produce in the most climate-friendly way possible. Source: Migros/Ineedcontent.ch

Migros has also been striving for years to deploy the right type of engine depending on the route, freight and order, using the “M Opex Tower” simulation software developed in cooperation with Empa for this purpose. Daniel Balmer explains: “We create a simulation, determine with which engine and vehicle configuration the route can be driven, how high the respective TCO costs are and how much CO₂ can be saved as a result.” The Head of Transport Logistics at Migros Eastern Switzerland adds: “However, every simulation is only as good as the data that is fed in, which is why it is being updated on an ongoing basis. For example, we have found that certain engines are reaching their capacity limits with a refrigerated consignment in tow in summer. This is also noted and helps us with planning – and, of course, especially, when developing our fleet strategy as a whole.” (jas, 31 March 2022)