First Shell hydrogen station opening in the Netherlands

The first Shell hydrogen filling station in the Netherlands is here. Hydrogen can now be refuelled at the filling station along the A4 at the Den Ruygenhoek service area. The opening is an important step for the development of hydrogen in the Netherlands.

The Shell location along the A4 between The Hague and Amsterdam near Hoofddorp, is one of the busier filling stations in the Netherlands. It makes perfect sense that Shell selected this location to work with hydrogen, as it is clearly visible to a large audience. It initiates a broad movement towards the necessary national energy transition. “We want to stimulate the development of hydrogen in the Dutch mobility sector. We cannot wait any longer,” explains Lisa Montanari, Hydrogen Commercial Manager at Shell.

Permit for 20 locations
You could count the number of public filling stations in the Netherlands where hydrogen is offered on one hand. That is changing quickly. The government has provided funding for the construction of more than twenty stations. The Dutch Climate Agreement states that a total of fifty filling stations must be realised by 2025. The number of Dutch drivers with a hydrogen vehicle should grow up to 15,000 by 2025, and no less than 300,000 (!) by 2030.

The new Shell filling point is part of the H2Benelux consortium, in which Shell, together with Total, the Belgian Colruyt, Rijkswaterstaat and Hydrogennet, will realize a total of eight hydrogen filling stations. Shell is responsible for three stations, two of which in the Netherlands and one in Luxembourg, Colruyt is building three in Belgium, and Total is building two in the Netherlands.

The opening of this Shell hydrogen station represents another important step towards making hydrogen driving more widely available, in addition to electric driving. Just like with electric driving, the availability of refuelling options is crucial for the success and acceptance of hydrogen as a fuel. Shell is of the opinion that hydrogen will play a significant role in the energy mix of the future. Hydrogen is an interesting option not only for light vehicle transport, but also for heavier transport, especially given the high energy density of hydrogen.

Montanari gives as example the increasingly busy inner cities. Electric driving cannot be the only option to work on ‘zero emission’ city logistics, especially given the load it places on the electricity grid. “More options are really needed. Hydrogen is a good and sustainable supplement, and can fulfil a buffer function due to the storage option. Certainly, in the Randstad, hydrogen can make a contribution to reducing CO2 emissions, especially in the inner cities.”

With Shell’s new hydrogen station added, the Netherlands now has five public filling points for private individuals with hydrogen vehicles. There are around two hundred hydrogen vehicles in the Netherlands in total. “They truly are the front runners, the ambassadors,” says Montanari from Shell. “It goes without saying that the goal is to increase the number of stations and hydrogen vehicles in the coming years.”

Prominent role hydrogen vehicles
Two front runners in that area are Toyota and Hyundai. Toyota has been in the electrification of auto-mobility for over 20 years. It was the first manufacturer to market a hydrogen vehicle in the Netherlands, the Mirai. Hyundai also has future vision in which hydrogen vehicles play a prominent role: the Korean car brand wants to become ‘the greenest car brand in the world, and the most innovative for alternative mobility’. Hydrogen is one of the pillars on which Hyundai is focusing, including with the Nexo. That model, like the Mirai, is described in the Moditech Crash Recovery System. In total, more than 40 different hydrogen-powered vehicles can be found in the CRS, such as the BMW Hydrogen 7, the Honda Clarity and the Mercedes F-Cell. It also describes several hydrogen-powered buses, such as those from manufacturers Van Hool (type A 330) and VDL.

As a result of these market developments, emergency services will more often have to deal with accidents involving vehicles with alternative propulsion.

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