What are Hydrogen Filling Stations
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- 19-03-2021

What are hydrogen filling stations? Could Your Business Benefit from a hydrogen powered vehicle fleet? Find out how you could install a filling station for your vehicles.
A hydrogen filling station is similar to a petrol station. However, hydrogen can be produced on-site if you can separate the two elements from water or separate natural gases (however, this can create carbon dioxide, but up to 30% less than other methods).
The generated hydrogen must first be compressed before it can be used inside vehicles to generate electricity for movement/propulsion.
A typical hydrogen station consists of hydrogen storage tanks, compressors, precooling systems and a dispenser. These stations are usually are kept up to the government regulations.
How Do Hydrogen Refuelling Stations Work?
The Four main components or stages of hydrogen refuelling stations infrastructure include:
Hydrogen storage tanks
The hydrogen storage tanks are only used to store any hydrogen created. The hydrogen fuel tanks keep the hydrogen at an ideal temperature to ensure it doesn't lose energy.
Compressors
The compressor is used to compress the hydrogen gas to between under pressure of around 350-700 bars or 5,000-10,000psi. When the pressurised hydrogen is cooled down, the gas's density is even more significant, which means the energy stored is more considerable. This is why hydrogen is compressed.
Precooling system
The precooling system for a hydrogen refuelling station is a critical component. This stops the tank from overheating while sending the hydrogen gas from the hydrogen storage tank and the dispenser. The cooling process is initiated 30 seconds before the hydrogen is pumped to ensure the tank does not overheat.
Dispenser
This is the last main part of the hydrogen stations. The dispenser is the final machine that is mainly used inside a hydrogen refuelling station. The dispenser is what pumps the hydrogen into the car from the pressurised hydrogen tanks. The hydrogen is kept at a high pressure of 350-700 bar or 5,000-10,000 psi.
How many hydrogen filling stations are there in the UK?
In total, there are 13 hydrogen filling stations currently available in the UK at this time. This list includes:
- Sainsbury's, Hendon, London (NW9 6JX)
- HyFive 2, Rainham, Essex (RM13 8EU)
- five 1, Teddington, Surrey (TW11 0LY)
- Hatton Cross, London (TW6 2GE)
- HyFive 3, M25 Cobham Services, Surrey (KT11 3JS)
- M40 Beaconsfield Services, Buckinghamshire (HP9 2SE)
- University of South Wales, Glyntaff, Pontypridd, Wales (CF37 4BD)
- Honda Manufacturing, Swindon, Wiltshire (SN3 4QS)
- Coventry University, West Midlands (CV1 2HG)
- University of South Wales, Bagran, Port Talbot, Wales (SA12 7AX)
- ITM Power, Rotherham, South Yorkshire (S60 5WG)
- European Hydrogen Transport Project, Aberdeen, Scotland (AB25 3RF)
- The University of Birmingham, West Midlands (B15 2FG)
How much does hydrogen fuel cost?
Of course, the hydrogen cost will depend on which hydrogen station you go to and how much you wish to get with any fuel. With hydrogen fuel, a mass measurement is prefered compared to the liquid measurement of litres.
The cost can range between £10-£15, and some cars can hold around 5-6 kg for every kg. With a 5-6 kg tank, you can get around a 400-mile radius, depending on its consumption speed. The cost of this would be between £60-£90 or near enough for a full tank depending on the car and fuel efficiency.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars
A hydrogen-fuelled car, or FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle), is a vehicle using hydrogen cells to generate electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen.
Due to the electromechanical process, these electric cars offer a fully electric-powered driving vehicle that benefits from a zero-emissions. Hydrogen fuel cells are normally environmentally friendly as the only output products created are air and water vapour from the process.
Whereas petrol or diesel cars are different as they give out pollution, some must pay extra tax due to pollution.
Due to the low or non-existents of harmful emissions from hydrogen cars, the owners can benefit from lower or no tax charges; however, this depends on the vehicle type.
A hydrogen car would take around three-five minutes in total to fill up the tank, and a bus may take up to 7 minutes in total. Other battery-electric car companies have gone for an approach that does not use hydrogen in the future.
If you want more information, please contact our team on 07826055259. We will try to reply as soon as possible. You can also fill out the query form on the website.
Do you want to take advantage of hydrogen filling stations. Soguard Hydrogen Producers Ltd offer installation of hydrogen filling stations for businesses throughout the UK. Find out how your vehicle fleet can benefit from a hydrogen fuel source.