Official opening of the first public hydrogen filling station in the Province of Utrecht: Hysolar/Greenpoint in Nieuwegein

The moment arrived on Friday, 8 October: the brand-new Hysolar/Greenpoint hydrogen filling station was officially opened in Nieuwegein. Passenger cars, busses and trucks can all make use of it. The inauguration of the Hysolar/Greenpoint station fits in perfectly with the ‘Covenant on Hydrogen in Mobility for the Province of Utrecht’, which has now been signed by almost 100 organisations.

Hysolar sees green hydrogen fulfilling an important role as a renewable energy carrier. Now that the filling station has been opened, the next step is the production of green hydrogen, which is planned to be realised in 2022. Until that time, the filling station will offer hydrogen with CO₂ compensation. Before the operations got underway, the speakers took us through the story of green hydrogen and Hysolar:

• Introduction by the Hysolar partners
• Diederik Samsom (European Commission), ‘Green hydrogen from a European perspective’
• Arne Schaddelee (Member of Executive Council of the Province of Utrecht) ‘Mobility and green hydrogen in the Utrecht Region’
• Marieke Schouten (Councillor of the Municipality of Nieuwegein, and member of the European Committee of the Regions), ‘Collaboration between government, private sector and science for a sustainable future’
• Ad van Wijk (professor, TU Delft/KWR), Presentation of the book Hydrogen Rocks!

Green hydrogen: from region to EU

The EU has set ambitious CO₂ emission reduction targets: no less than 55% in 2030 compared to 1990 levels. This won’t happen by itself.

“That’s why we have to act now to achieve the climate objectives and make sure the energy transition succeeds. And we can do it because, for the first time in history, we have an alternative to fossil fuels in the form of renewable energy coupled with hydrogen,’ says Diederik Samsom.

At the regional level, the Province of Utrecht has been one of the initiators of the already mentioned hydrogen covenant.

“I am very happy to see that the first public hydrogen filling station has been realised here in Nieuwegein. This is a big milestone in the Covenant on Hydrogen in Mobility for the Province of Utrecht, and an important step in the mobility transition towards a healthy living environment, good air quality and more sustainable transport,’ says to Arne Schaddelee, Member of Executive Council of the Province of Utrecht.

Marieke Schouten adds:

“It’s great to see that this local initiative – with many thanks to the province – fits so well into the European strategy for hydrogen. I am of course proud that the first public hydrogen station has been opened here in Nieuwegein. The use of green hydrogen to enhance the sustainability of heavy transport, or of heavy vehicles, as at Scholman Contractors, contributes to cutting CO₂ emissions. Shipping can also benefit greatly from green hydrogen on the busy waterways around our city: the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal and the Lek.”

Continuous innovation

The use of green hydrogen is still in its pioneering phase, but given the importance of the energy transition and of reducing emissions (of nitrogen or particulate matter, for instance), all the lights are – very fittingly – green. For the system’s further scaling up and rolling out, more innovation is crucial. And the Hysolar partners are hard at work on the task. With a focus on achieving maximum performance and sustainability, we are now already studying how the residual heat generated in the production of hydrogen can be used locally. A step towards making the entire system even more sustainable.

Find lots more inspiration in the newly-published book: Hydrogen Rocks! Editors Ad van Wijk and Peter Luscuere explain:

“Things are moving much faster than we would have dared dream around six years ago. From a dream and vision, it’s now a question of action. The area of hydrogen offers multiple possibilities, but it is now up to businesses, governments and society to make the investments and take the steps.”

The Hysolar partners

Innovator Allied Waters and Jos Scholman Contractors began running their own company cars on hydrogen in 2019, and then did the same for their tractors and other heavy equipment. The partners that recently joined Hysolar are a welcome complement: Van Kessel/Greenpoint, with its experience in the operation of filling stations, and Scholt Energy, thanks to its role as energy provider and balancing service provider for the deployment of the electrolyser, which needs to become operational in 2022. The entire chain, from the production to the use of green hydrogen, is therefore in good hands. The collaborating parties, with their unique bundling of knowledge from the transport, construction, water and energy sectors, are moving ahead in their quest for optimal efficiency, pricing and sustainability in the field of green hydrogen and transport. The four partners are characterised by their entrepreneurship and a pragmatic approach, which is further attested by this project’s rapid development.

For more information, you can contact info@hysolar.nl.

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 ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Over Allied Waters

In a circular economy, sustainability and economic feasibility go hand in hand. That is the philosophy of innovator Allied Waters (www.alliedwaters.com), with the focus on innovative concepts relating to water and energy. ‘Make it happen’: with a creative and chain-oriented approach, much more can often be achieved – in the economic sense as well – than would seem to be the case at first sight. In addition to green hydrogen, examples include the ‘upcycling’ of biomass and residues from the water chain, and solutions for reusing water. As a rule, we work in public-private partnerships with private companies and research centres such as KWR. Working under the name Hysolar Innovation & Advice, Allied Waters conducts studies and advises about green hydrogen applications, for example for the built environment and shipping.

 Over Jos Scholman Aannemersbedrijf

Jos Scholman from Nieuwegein is a contracting company in civil engineering, sports- and cultivation engineering (www.josscholman.nl). Scholman goes back 40 years and it has a workforce of more than 200 people. For Jos Scholman, it is clear that clients find sustainability increasingly important when placing orders. The requirements for nitrogen emissions have also been tightened up considerably. To maintain their strong position in the market, the company decided to invest in sustainability. And particularly in hydrogen. Hysolar’s hydrogen filling station is already set up at the Jos Scholman site.

 Over Scholt Energy

Scholt Energy (www.scholt.nl) from Valkenswaard in the Netherlands is the energy partner for the business market in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Austria. Scholt has more than 6,500 customers and the company generated revenue of €457 million in 2020. The organisation combines fifteen years of market experience with a very personal, customer-oriented approach. Energy deliveries focus on cost savings and risk spreading by combining fixed and variable prices. Scholt helps its clients with the whole range of energy issues, from energy conservation to solar panels and the automated control of energy flows. The main objective here is a long-term partnership. Scholt Energy’s ambition is to use its activities in the field of flexibility to manage the decentralised energy network of the future and, in that way, to accelerate the energy transition. Scholt currently runs a pool with the largest number of individual batteries in the Dutch FCR market (primary reserve capacity) and it also actively manages a portfolio including wind turbines, CHP units and cold stores in the emergency capacity market (tertiary reserve capacity).

Over Van Kessel

The Van Kessel Group (www.vankesselolie.nl) from Milheeze in the Netherlands is an independent trading company in fuels, lubricants and energy. With 98 employees, a network of 34 filling stations and a range of projects in the energy transition, this family company has become a leading player in the transport, construction & infrastructure, agriculture & contract work, industry, garages and filling stations. Under the brand name Greenpoint, the Van Kessel Group is fully committed to initiatives for sustainable mobility. The organisation has already opened eleven Greenpoint multi-energy filling stations with sustainable fuels, built charging plazas for individual companies and installed public rapid chargers. It is now also running the hydrogen filling station in Nieuwegein.