H₂ supplements biogas in Grauholz

At the Grauholz Süd service station, hydrogen can now be refuelled directly on the motorway from Bern to Zurich. This is another step towards the future of mobility, as CNG vehicles have been able to fill up with 100 percent Swiss biogas here for a long time.

In addition to the biogas filling station, which can be reached from both directions, the Grauholz service area near Bern now also has the first hydrogen filling station on a Swiss motorway. Source: CNG-Mobility.ch

Although this is already the 15th hydrogen filling station in Switzerland, more than 100 guests from politics and business as well as various media representatives from abroad attended the opening. The reason: this is the first H2 filling station directly on a motorway. Socar Energy Switzerland, the subsidiary of the state energy company of the Republic of Azerbaijan and, since 2018, also a member of the Swiss H2 Mobility Promotion Association, which, together with other companies, is actively working to establish a nationwide hydrogen filling station network, operates it. As a result, hydrogen can now also be refuelled at the Grauholz Süd service station directly on the motorway from Bern to Zurich.

Christoph Neuhaus, SVP councillor for the canton of Berne and head of the Berne Department of Construction and Transport, explained the pioneering scooters at the Grauholz motorway service station at the opening of the filling station. Source: CNG-Mobility.ch

«Grauholz is probably the most innovative service station in Switzerland. It has been possible to fill up with biogas here since the 1980s, in 2014 the first electric fast-charging station was added, in 2018 even a hypercharger and now the possibility for trucks and cars to fill up with hydrogen,» Christoph Neuhaus, SVP government councillor of the Canton of Berne and head of the Berne Department of Construction and Transport, explained at the opening. He added in his speech that it sometimes amazes him how people fight for the sole interpretative truth when it comes to mobility and the drives of the future. «We will need all technologies to achieve the climate change. We in Bern are very pragmatic about this,» says Neuhaus. «That’s why customers will get biogas, electricity and now hydrogen here in the future.»

Jürg Röthlisberger, Director of the Federal Roads Office (Astra), Marco Rupp, President of the Municipality of Ittigen, Azerbaijani Ambassador Fuad Isgandarov, Edgar Bachmann, CEO of Socar, and Christoph Neuhaus, SVP Government Councillor of the Canton of Berne and Head of the Berne Construction and Transport Directorate, (left to right) at the opening of the first H₂ filling station on a Swiss motorway. Source: CNG-Mobility.ch

With his statement, the Bernese government councillor also underlined how important the diversity of drive types is for the mobile future. Astra Director Jürg Röthlisberger also agreed. “The future of transport is mulimodal, more sustainable and safer. The phase-out of fossil fuels and rapid decarbonisation is necessary. And everyone can contribute to this with their own behaviour,” the Astra boss explained. H2 could play an important role especially in trucks, buses and public transport and also gain importance as a storage material for the energy industry to bring green surplus energy from summer to winter. Incidentally, the same arguments also apply to biogas: because vehicles powered by CNG, regardless of their size, have long been able to be operated almost CO₂-neutrally thanks to biogas in the tank, and biogas is also a clever alternative for storing surplus energy.

At the hydrogen filling station, both fuel cell cars – like the Toyota Mirai here – can be refuelled at 700 bar, and trucks at 350 bar. Source: CNG-Mobility.ch

In future, around 30 hydrogen trucks per day will be able to refuel with green hydrogen within a few minutes of each other in Grauholz Süd and, above all, will not have to take any detours or leave the motorway to do so. The offer was well received, because shortly after the opening ceremony, Emmi driver Stefan drove up in a Hyundai Xcient Fuell Cell and filled up with H₂ – already a daily routine for him. Government Councillor Neuhaus beamed and congratulated the (somewhat stunned) driver.

Councillor Christoph Neuhaus (left) talking to Daniel Keller, Chief Operating Officer Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility, and Emmi driver Stefan (right). Source: CNG-Mobility.ch

In this country, there are currently around 48 trucks and 240 passenger cars on the road that are powered by fuel cells. Compared to the more than 14,000 CNG vehicles that are already on the road in Switzerland using CNG or biogas to protect the climate – there are even around 18 million CNG vehicles worldwide – this is still a relatively small number. Nevertheless, Edgar Bachmann, CEO of Socar, states: «We want to help shape the future and, as Socar, play an active role in the mobility of the future. Hydrogen technology offers the necessary elements for a sustainable reduction of CO₂ emissions in road traffic.» According to René Himmelstein of Maximator Hydrogen, a specialist in H2 filling station technology, over 60,000 refuellings of trucks or cars with fuel cell drive systems have been carried out throughout Switzerland to date. «In Switzerland, 610.2 tonnes of green hydrogen have already been refuelled in this way,» he adds. (jas, 13 June 2023)