A recent article in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (vol. 26, (2001), 777-782 by K.Pehr, P.Auermann, O.Traeger and M.Bracha) describes the operation of the first public liquid hydrogen refilling station at Munich airport.
In Germany, there are roughly 17,000 gasoline filling stations. BMW and a group of other companies installed a hydrogen refilling station in Munich airport in May 1999. This project includes a 400kW electrolysis unit for production of compressed hydrogen as well as a means for refilling vehicles with liquid hydrogen supplied by Linde AG.
The project seeks to demonstrate the practicality of this technology. It involves 16 liquid hydrogen-fuelled BMW vehicles (using internal combustion engines rather than fuel cells), each able to travel more than 300km on a 120l tank of fuel, which can be refilled in a respectable 1.5 minutes.
The project not only aims to demonstrate the safety of hydrogen fuel in vehicles but also in the refuelling process, a key step in the move towards the formulation of new codes and standards. These would allow the construction of such filling stations and the establishment of a sufficient infrastructure to allow the use of hydrogen in cars and other vehicles.
Prototype hydrogen refilling stations are also being operated by Honda in Los Angeles and Toho Gas in Nagoya, Japan.