The first public hydrogen filling station in the Czech Republic has been put into operation by VÍTKOVICE, a. s. The filling station occupies approximately 90 m2, is designed for passenger vehicles and stands at the entrance to the Cylinders Holding production area in Ostrava. It is also already registered in the European network of hydrogen stations (https://h2.live/en/).
"The total investment was approximately CZK 15 million. It took us two months to build it from the time the building permit was issued. When selecting the technology, we had already counted on low energy consumption, which was successful," said Rodan Broskevič, Chairman of the Board of Vítkovice.
The station consists of three basic parts: a 7.26 m3 hydrogen storage tank, a compressor and a dispensing rack. The high-pressure vessels for the filling station were supplied by Cylinders Holding Group, while other parts were supplied by APT and Vítkovice IT Solutions. Messer Technogas filled the station with hydrogen. The station is designed to be smaller in order to meet the needs of introducing hydrogen technology into common practice as quickly as possible.
"It is good that Vítkovice has placed a small, economical filling station with low electricity consumption within sight of the science centre in Dolní Vítkovice. The new technology will be visible a few steps away from the places where students learn about these things, where hydrogen training for companies and similar activities take place," said Jan Světlík, CEO of Cylinders Holding. The group produces intelligent, complex solutions for hydrogen storage and transport, and its subsidiary Vítkovice Cylinders has modern production facilities adjacent to the new hydrogen filling plant.
At the moment, the Czech Republic's first public hydrogen filling station is running in trial operation on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. A passenger hydrogen vehicle can be refuelled, regardless of the tank capacity, for an introductory uniform price of 2,500 CZK or 100 EUR. The capacity of the filling station is sufficient to fill up to 40 hydrogen cars such as Toyota Mirai or Hyundai Nexo in a modular way (if the capacity of the high-pressure tank is increased); so far, it is expected to fill around ten cars per day.
"The filler is interesting for corporate fleets and individual car owners. As a next step, we are planning to build a larger, already multifunctional filling station," said Broskevič, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vítkovice. In Ostrava and the surrounding area, there are plenty of manufacturers and importers of global brands of hydrogen-powered passenger cars. According to Broskevic, the first domestic public hydrogen filling station will definitely not be idle.
VÍTKOVICE, a. s., edit by H2 TIMES
Pictures: VÍTKOVICE, a. s., and Cylinders Holding
