The European Union and the world’s largest automakers have stated that they will be ready with hydrogen cars and H2 fueling stations by the year 2015. Meanwhile the Federal Government of the United States has stated they have no intention on being ready and are most willing to be followers instead of leaders in these emerging technologies.
So in anticipation of the 2015 deadline, Denmark has opened up another hydrogen fueling station in that country. As part of the Denmark Hydrogen Link network this will be the 8th H2 fueling station opened. This will, however, be the first 10,000 psi station (which helps vehicles equipped with 10,000 psi or 700 bar tanks extend their range).
The new hydrogen fueling station is located in the city of Holstebro. Refueling time at the station is less than 3 minutes complying with the worldwide SAE J2601 standard. According to Hydrogen Link, “The new hydrogen station in Denmark is therefore the first step in a planned countrywide network to be established before 2015. This will ensure availability of hydrogen fuel in the major cities and with less than 150 km to the nearest station in the country as a whole. Already today the new 700bar station enables full cross-country driving on one refueling, the only electric vehicle technology so far to achieve this in Denmark.”
Now, Denmark’s neighbor to the south, Germany has also launched another hydrogen fueling station. By my count this gives Germany 31 hydrogen fueling stations as part of the overall European Union Hydrogen Highway system.
Shell Deutschland Oil GmbH opened the hydrogen fueling pump at a currently operational station at Sachsendamm in Berlin. According to hydrogen fuel producing company Linde, “The installation is equipped with innovative refuelling technology from Linde. The hydrogen to be dispensed there comes from a Linde pilot plant in Leuna which uses crude glycerol as feedstock.”
There so you have it, another example of Europe charging ahead with the building of their hydrogen highway systems while the U. S. falls behind because Federal political apathy and worse yet, negativity. Which political figure do you think will go down in history as the man who let America get behind?