Twenty-seven new hydrogen refuelling stations opened throughout the world in 2012, bringing the total number of hydrogen refuelling stations in operation to 208 as at March 2013. This is the result of the fifth annual assessment by H2stations.org, a website of Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik (LBST) and TÜV SÜD.

In 2012 the statistics list eight station inaugurations in North America, three in Asia and 16 in Europe, five of which are in Germany. The latter are owned by the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) Project and are located in Hamburg, Berlin and Duesseldorf. Together with the refuelling station opened in Stuttgart in March 2013, this brings the number of hydrogen refuelling stations in Germany up to 33. Austria's third hydrogen refuelling station was opened last year and Turkey celebrated a premiere by opening its first hydrogen refuelling station.

In accordance with the information available to Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik, a total of 80 hydrogen refuelling stations are currently operated in Europe, 76 in North America, three in South America and 49 in Asia. Since almost everywhere hydrogen-fuelled vehicles are only used in field tests and trials, most refuelling stations can only be used following consultation with, and agreement by, the operators. Given this, at the present stage of commercialisation hydrogen refuelling stations are not yet grouped into "public" and "private" refuelling stations.

Many countries are planning to build new hydrogen refuelling stations. One new country is Slovenia, where specific plans for the construction of two hydrogen stations were published in 2012. The website H2stations.org also records planned hydrogen refuelling stations for which locations have already been determined plus all the relevant available information. At present this concerns 104 refuelling stations worldwide (43 in North America, seven in Asia and 54 in Europe, of which seven in Germany).
The website H2stations.org (www.H2stations.org) uses interactive maps to list all hydrogen refuelling stations worldwide that are in operation or planning or that have been shut down. The website also gives an overview of the history of hydrogen infrastructure by including information on projects already completed.

The database is updated on an ongoing basis, also adding new information on existing refuelling stations, and shows detailed information on the 475 refuelling stations currently included. "Even though we take great efforts to keep the data up-to-date we provide it free of charge for non-commercial use", says LBST Managing Director Dr Uwe Albrecht. "We happily provide interested companies with further detailed information and targeted analyses plus a licence for professional use."

Information and services for hydrogen and fuel cells

TÜV SÜD and LBST operate a joint hydrogen and fuel-cell portal (www.netinform.de/H2), where they offer extensive information and services for professional users and interested members of the public. The portal comprises the www.H2stations.org and www.H2mobility.org websites and offers an overview of all hydrogen vehicles going back as far as 1807, extensive specialist information and a guide through standards and regulations.

Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik GmbH (LBST) specialises in consultancy on sustainable energy supply and transport. The company supports its international clients from industry, the financial sector, politics and professional associations in all issues related to technology, strategy and sustainability. Eight DAX companies rely on LBST's dependable assessments of new developments and innovations in the energy industry and the transport sector. LBST's comprehensive expertise is based on three decades of continuous experience by its interdisciplinary team of renowned experts.

Further information about Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik and TÜV SÜD can be found on the Internet at www.lbst.de or www.tuev-sued.de/wasserstoff respectively.

TÜV SÜD is an international leading technical service organization catering to the INDUSTRY, MOBILITY and CERTIFICATION Segment. The experts and technology consultants are dedicated partners in their clients' processes, offering comprehensive industry expertise throughout the entire value chain. They focus their services on their core competencies of consulting, testing, certification and training. Over 17,000 employees are committed to optimizing technology, systems and know-how at over 800 locations in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and Africa. Further information is available at www.tuv-sud.com.