With this hydrogen refuelling station in Hamburg,
Shell would like to better understand the economics
and technical requirements of on-site hydrogen production.
We use electricity from the electricity grid and tap water.
The water is then split up into hydrogen and oxygen.
The oxygen is vented
and the hydrogen is used to refuel the hydrogen vehicles.
The hydrogen is then stored in 14-metre-high vessels,
which can store enough energy for three to four days of production.
We are participating in the balancing power market.
The electricity grid must maintain a balance
between production and consumption.
If supply exceeds demand,
for example,
by an unexpectedly high amount of fluctuating renewable energy,
either production has to be limited, or consumption be increased.
Since conventional power plants take a long time to adjust,
renewable energy sources have to be shut down instead.
To avoid this,
we can use the excess electrical energy to produce hydrogen,
which is then stored on-site and used as fuel for hydrogen vehicles.
We use surplus power from the electricity grid
and certified renewable energy.
We are aiming to produce 50% of renewable hydrogen.
The station was prepared over a period of about two months.
The piping was installed and welded...
..and in the meantime the station was tested for functionality
and safety features at the production site.
The H2 station for Shell is based on our standard H2 station products.
There are some differences -
like one of the main challenges was to integrate the electrolyser
into a very compact skid.
Secondly, it was to make a hydrogen dispenser
more than 50 metres away from the station itself.
That required some new technologies.
And then finally, we had to implement the new refuelling protocol of 2014 -
so the latest one -
and it also took some time to implement and to test that.
The highlights of delivering the hydrogen station
for Shell in Hamburg,
are firstly, to get all the specifications finalised,
then we have the construction phase.
Then we have the test phase,
where we put pressure on the hydrogen station
and validate all of the performances of the station.
We have very high low-pressure storage units,
which are 14 metres high.
To integrate that at a traditional gasoline station in Hamburg
while there are customers every day...
But we managed it and we're quite proud of that.
The main challenge in the product preparation phase
was the complex permitting process,
which required close cooperation between all stakeholders.
Finally,
construction work on the sites and the operation is always a challenge.
This has been achieved without compromising HSSE at any time.