The city of Antwerp will get a hydrogen filling station that can supply cars, buses, trucks, and ships with hydrogen. The filling station will be placed very strategically between a busy road and the water. Even large cargo ships will be able to reach the station to be filled up with hydrogen. The service station is an initiative of CMB.TECH, a company specializing in technical developments within the shipping, automotive, and railroad industries.
CMB.TECH, part of CMB (Compagnie Maritime Belge), has already been focusing on hydrogen for years. The launch of the Hydroville, a hydrogen-powered passenger vessel, was part of this commitment. Up until now, the Hydroville has been supplied with hydrogen by means of a tube trailer. To be able to supply larger ships with hydrogen, a refueling station is a necessity, the company concluded.
The public area of the filling station will be accessible to everyone to refuel their hydrogen-powered car or to re-charge their electric car at an ultra-fast charging point.
Roy Campe, Managing Director of CMB.TECH, says it is his ambition to become “the reference in the field” of hydrogen technology for large-scale industry applications with a focus on the maritime and transport industry. “Having a hydrogen refueling station is essential. We want to demonstrate that this technology is ready to scale up and that the maritime industry is playing a pioneering role in the transition to alternative energy sources. We hope it will encourage other companies to take steps to use hydrogen as the fuel of the future.”
How does it all work?
An electrolyzer converts electricity and water (H₂O) into hydrogen. Via a compressor, the hydrogen is intensively pressurized and transferred to various buffers. These buffers ensure that a car, truck, or ship can refuel. In addition to the refueling station, the site also contains 2 trailer docks that can be used to transport the hydrogen produced to other applications. In addition, various ultra-fast charging points for electric cars are included which are integrated into the site’s smart grid.
Near the Port House
The hydrogen refueling station will be built near the Port House. This location on the boundary between the city and the port has been selected to provide the many industrial applications in the port with hydrogen, whilst at the same time keeping it easily accessible to the general public.
