Building of refuelling station at Colruyt Group (Halle, near Brussels)
Hydrogen region Flanders- South of the Netherlands

2009 - 2012

Within the framework of the Interreg project 'Hydrogen Region Flanders - South Netherlands' Hydrogenics - commissioned by WaterstofNet - built the first hydrogen filling station for hydrogen at 350 bar in Flanders, at the Colruyt Group logistics site in Halle. Green electricity (wind and sun) is converted into hydrogen via electrolysis.

The hydrogen filling station was opened in February 2012 and a test program on hydrogen forklift trucks was started.

The role of WaterstofNet

WaterstofNet was the client for the construction of the hydrogen filling station and was responsible for its operation until 2017. The exploitation has continued since then by Colruyt Group.

Outcome 

After the opening in 2012, the station has been expanded into a smart grid environment within the Don Quichote project.
An indoor refueling system has been installed for faster refueling of the forklifts (Hydrogen Region 2.0).
And the filling station has been expanded to 700 bar (public hydrogen filling station), so that cars can also be refueled (Hydrogen Region 2.0).