Refueling

Infrastructure is key. Any truck or car owner has to be certain that they will be able to fill hydrogen on their tanks if they are to buy a fuel cell vehicle. The European Union's current target is that there should be a refueling station for hydrogen every 150 kilometers along all main traffic corridors. And talks are already ongoing on setting an even more aggressive target, to remove any and all fears of range issues between stations.

Cars currently fill hydrogen at a pressure of 700 bar, whilst most trucks fill at 350 bar. In the near future however, it is expected that also trucks will fill at 700 bar. This will allow for longer ranges without increasing tank capacity.

Hydrogen refueling take little or no more time than tanking a car or truck with fossil fuels, without occupying any more space than a traditional gas station. Cars can get a full tank of five to six kilos of hydrogen in less than five minutes, whilst trucks and busses can fill between 30 and 100 kilos in 8 to 15 minutes.