Towards decarbonising public transport in the Netherlands
On Thursday 22 February 2018, a new hydrogen refuelling station at the Groningen site was launched. The hydrogen is a by-product of chlorine production, produced sustainably by electrolysis, using electricity produced from wind energy. It is therefore renewable and green. The launch of the station is paving the way towards the deployment of more fuel cell electric buses in the north east of the Netherlands.
This new milestone is taking place thanks to the FCH JU project High V.LO-City, which aims at contributing to cities' clean-air objectives by speeding-up the process of integrating hydrogen buses in their public transport fleet. High V.LO-City implements fleets of fuel cell buses in several European locations, namely Aberdeen, Scotland, Antwerp, Belgium, San Remo, Italy and Groningen, Netherlands. The project also sets out to build hydrogen production and refueling facilities.
At the occasion of this opening in Groningen, Fleur Gräper-Van Koolwijk, Regional Minister for the Province of Groningen said: “The launch of this new hydrogen refueling station is a great start for the further development of green hydrogen in the field of mobility and as such also for greening the economy as a whole in the Northern Netherlands.” The station will service two fuel cell buses already in operation, which are substitutes to standard diesel buses. “The daily operation of these buses is a great opportunity to show what hydrogen can mean as an energy carrier for public transport.” Said the QBuzz (bus operator) CEO Gerrit Spijksma.
Shift towards clean mobility is necessary in view of achieving Europe’s climate goals. Hydrogen, as clean fuel can contribute to these goals, especially in cities, where air quality is an issue. Cities and regions are now increasingly exploring ways to clean and sustainable public transport. Under this FCH JU funded project more than 800.000 km have already been traveled by the buses so far and their daily operation is proving that fuel cell electric buses can be put in operation with the same level of efficiency and flexibility as diesel buses.
Read more about the project here.
Read the full press release here.


