Düsseldorf is demonstrating a pioneering spirit in hydrogen mobility: The municipal utilities Stadtwerke Düsseldorf and Rheinbahn, in cooperation with hydrogen filling station operator H2 Mobility Deutschland, are gradually putting 20 fuel cell buses on the streets of the NRW state capital. Stadtwerke Düsseldorf plan to produce the hydrogen needed to run the buses using its own electrolyzer. Initially, they will provide one megawatt of sustainable electricity for hydrogen production – obtained from the refuse of Düsseldorf's citizens.
"We want to invest two billion euros in the development of our city and our company by 2030," says Julien Mounier, CEO of Stadtwerke Düsseldorf. For example, the in-house hydrogen production could be expanded to up to five megawatts, according to the Stadtwerke – enough for the daily operation of around 100 fuel cell buses.
The first ten fuel cell buses purchased by Rheinbahn will be delivered in the coming weeks, and another ten are currently in the Europe-wide tender process. The buses, which will be used in Düsseldorf's city transport system on Route 732 from the second quarter of 2023, will be refueled at a filling station operated by H2 Mobility Deutschland on the premises of the municipal utilities in Düsseldorf-Flingern. Julien Mounier is certain: "This project can provide us with initial experience that we will also need for the decarbonization of the energy supply." The German government also believes in the project's potential and is funding it to the tune of 1.2 million euros.
