26 september 2023

Inauguration of Luxembourg's first hydrogen refueling station, in Bettembourg

Today, François Bausch (Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Mobility and Public Works), Claude Turmes (Minister for Energy), Joëlle Welfring (Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development), in the presence of representatives of CFL multimodal, TotalEnergies Marketing Luxembourg, WaterstofNet and the European Commission, inaugurated the first hydrogen (H2) refueling station in Luxembourg, located in Bettembourg.

The commissioning of this hydrogen refueling station is a key step in the implementation of Luxembourg's hydrogen strategy. This public hydrogen refueling station is part of the European ‘H2Benelux’ project, co-financed by the European Commission as part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program, which aims to significantly expand the existing public hydrogen refueling infrastructure and increase the number of hydrogen-powered vehicles in the Benelux.

This first public hydrogen refueling station in Luxembourg is located in the industrial zone Wolser A in Bettembourg, at the CFL Eurohub Sud secured truck stop (or ‘CRS’ in French) and is operated by TotalEnergies. It is now possible to supply light vehicles, commercial vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles with hydrogen at 350 and 700 bar.

"The new European regulation 2023/1804 of September 2023 on the deployment of infrastructure for alternative fuels, which is part of the European Commission's ‘Fit for 55’ package, not only provides for the establishment of a European network of hydrogen refueling stations by 2030 at the latest, but also strongly recommends that these stations be deployed at multimodal hubs, such as CFL's Eurohub Sud. I am therefore delighted that the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is already ensuring that the required hydrogen infrastructure is deployed in the most promising locations and is capable of fueling any type of hydrogen-powered road vehicle, in order to facilitate the decarbonization of the transport sector," explains François Bausch, Minister for Mobility and Public Works.

The Minister for Energy, Claude Turmes, is delighted with the opening of this hydrogen station: "Green hydrogen is an important element in our strategy to decarbonize transport; it is a promising alternative in certain sectors that are difficult to decarbonize by direct electrification, such as the heavy-duty vehicle sector. For this very first H2 station in Luxembourg, it is important to ensure that it only sells renewable hydrogen.”

Joëlle Welfring, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, points out that the transport sector is currently responsible for 60% of the greenhouse gas emissions attributed to Luxembourg: "Meeting our climate targets will inevitably involve speeding up the transition to zero-emission mobility. Among the many measures to decarbonize the transport sector, renewable hydrogen will play an important role for means of transport that do not lend themselves to electrification."

Barbara Chevalier, Managing Director of CFL Multimodal, adds: "Our commitment to business at the Bettembourg-Dudelange terminal enables us to save almost 200,000 tonnes of CO2 every year. With this in mind, we are determined to innovate and invest to meet our customers' needs. The new hydrogen station fits in perfectly with our vision of offering our customers more sustainable transport solutions, while helping to reduce their carbon footprint, including pre- and post-road haulage by road."

"TotalEnergies is building a multi-energy future and is committed to carbon neutrality by 2050. Luxembourg has great ambitions in terms of sustainable development and the development of cleaner and more sustainable transport. “As TotalEnergies in Luxembourg, we are delighted to be able to contribute to this with the opening of the country's first hydrogen refueling station. This is a new step in the expansion of this energy and in supporting our customers in this energy transition", says Nicolas Leblond, Managing Director of TotalEnergies in Luxembourg.

Antoine Tournand, Hydrogen Director at TotalEnergies Marketing & Services: "This new station in Bettembourg is a central link in the network of more than 100 hydrogen stations for heavy-duty vehicles that we want to build together with Air Liquide on major European crossroad corridors and which will contribute to the decarbonization of freight transport in Europe.

"H2Benelux, initiated and coordinated by WaterstofNet, is a project of key importance as it connects the 3 Benelux member states by installing 8 hydrogen refueling stations at the most strategic locations. From now on, hydrogen vehicles can be fueled in any Benelux country. It is an honor to congratulate TotalEnergies and the Luxembourg government on this first hydrogen refueling station," says Adwin Martens, Chief Strategy Officer of WaterstofNet.

“It is with great satisfaction that we welcome the commissioning today of the first hydrogen station for road transport, as part of the ‘H2Benelux’ project. This is the fourth hydrogen station (in the project) to be commissioned with the support of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), with more than 150 others in the pipeline. The development of low-carbon mobility in Europe is imperative for everyone. By supporting this project, the European Union is contributing to the emergence of a hydrogen refueling network at both national and European level. As such, this project fully contributes to the objectives of the Green Pact for Europe, as well as those of the new regulation for the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructures, recently adopted," declares Christian Faure, Head of Unit at the European Climate and Infrastructure Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).

The station was built with the support of the H2Benelux project, coordinated by WaterstofNet, and part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program (executed by CINEA).