German industrial gases company Linde has announced the opening of the first hydrogen filling station in Belgium on the Paris-bound E19 motorway's carriageway. The station has been developed by Linde in co-operation with German automobile manufacturer BMW for fuel retailer Total.
Linde has developed technology for the hydrogen fueling station to allow the storage of low-temperature liquid hydrogen in proximity to the facility.
The industrial gases company noted that liquid hydrogen has a significantly higher energy density. This reportedly ensures that more energy can be saved when the hydrogen is transported from the production site to the filling station than is required for the liquefaction of the gas.
The amount of space required to store liquid hydrogen at the filling station is reportedly much less than for gaseous hydrogen.
Miguel del Marmol, managing director of Total Belgium, said: Within the framework of its commitment towards a sustainable development, the Total group has been investing for several years into R&D on hydrogen as a fuel. With this new station, Total shows that the distribution of hydrogen can be perfectly integrated in a motorway service station.