Central Switzerland gets second hydrogen filling station
Geuensee LU – Avia has opened Central Switzerland’s second hydrogen filling station in Geuensee. The first was put into operation by Agrola in Rothenburg in the canton of Lucerne back in January. There are now seven such filling stations located across Switzerland. Others are now set to follow.
Schätzle AG, the operator of the Avia network of filling stations, has now opened Central Switzerland’s second hydrogen filling station in Geuensee. Trucks and private automobiles have been able to access the first such station, opened by Agrola in Rothenburg, since the end of January. In total, there are now seven hydrogen filling stations in Switzerland.
“The importance of synthetic fuels, electricity and hydrogen is continually rising”, said Urs Schmidli, CEO of Schätzle AG, in an article published in the newspaper ‘Luzerner Zeitung’. He added: “With this filling station, our aim is to send out a clear signal and make a contribution to sustainable mobility”.
The expansion of the hydrogen filling station network will steadily continue, according to Hansjörg Vock from H2 Energy AG, which played a part in developing the Swiss hydrogen cycle system. Next on the agenda is the opening of an eighth hydrogen filling station in Bern. Over the course of this year, another four are to be added to the network, with as many as eight to come in 2022. The current hydrogen filling stations are being well utilized, Vock claims. Lorries and other HGVs are the key to this. Around 40 such vehicles from the Hyundai brand are already in use, with the South Korean automotive manufacturer set to deliver 1,600 in total by 2025.
Vock further underlined that the system established in Switzerland is unique around the world. According to information from Vock, plans are in place to expand the business across Europe, primarily in Germany and Austria, where excess wind energy in particular is to be used to produce green hydrogen.
