The Swiss energy company SOCAR is thus making an important contribution to a nationwide network of hydrogen filling stations for sustainable mobility. Construction will start next Monday. The hydrogen filling station is expected to be ready for operation by the end of May.
The SOCAR hydrogen filling station Grauholz Süd near Bern will be the first of its kind on a Swiss motorway and the first to be operated by SOCAR. “In future, the Grauholz Süd hydrogen filling station will form a cornerstone for the supply of hydrogen to Swiss road traffic”, emphasises Edgar Bachmann, CEO of SOCAR Energy Switzerland: “Hydrogen technology offers ideal conditions for sustainably reducing CO2 emissions in road traffic. With the realisation of the first SOCAR hydrogen filling station in Switzerland, we are making an important contribution to sustainable mobility and thus a contribution to the energy transition.”
The Grauholz Süd filling station on the motorway from Bern to Zurich is expected to operate one hydrogen dispenser for cars and one for trucks, with 700 bar and 350 bar respectively, from the end of May. A daily delivery quantity of up to 600 kilogrammes of hydrogen will be available. SOCAR will sell only green hydrogen. The conversion work at the Grauholz Süd filling station will begin on Monday, 13 February. The opening ceremony is planned for June.
Continuous promotion of the expansion of hydrogen filling stations in Switzerland
Sustainably produced hydrogen is a key to low-emission, climate-neutral road transport in the context of the energy transition and an indispensable component in achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. SOCAR Energy Switzerland has been a member of the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association since 2018 and, together with other private-sector companies in the industry, is actively promoting the establishment of a nationwide network of hydrogen filling stations in Switzerland.
In January 2021, the innovative project was awarded the prestigious Watt d’Or prize in the “Energy-efficient mobility” category by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy – a seal of quality for energy excellence. A network of hydrogen filling stations is intended to create the conditions for an increased use of sustainable hydrogen as a fuel in both passenger and heavy goods transport in the future.
According to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, 27 hydrogen-powered passenger cars were put into service in 2019, and by 2022, this figure had risen to 66[i]. The greatest potential lies with trucks. There are currently 47 hydrogen-powered trucks in use on Swiss roads[ii]. “We are convinced that hydrogen will play an important role in the energy mix in the near future. SOCAR therefore wants to open more H2 filling stations in the next few years. Specifically, we are working on projects for the Fuchsberg Nord and Süd filling stations on the A3 motorway near Wollerau”, confirms Edgar Bachmann, CEO SOCAR Energy Switzerland.
socarenergy.ch
i UVEK: https://www.uvek-gis.admin.ch/BFE/storymaps/MO_Kennzahlen_Fahrzeuge/Personenwagen_AlternativeAntriebe/?lang=de
ii Förderverein H2 Mobilität Schweiz: https://h2mobilitaet.ch/gemeinsam-unterwegs-20-wasserstoff-elektro-trucks-fahren-miteinander-den-5-millionsten-kilometer-2/
