Germany’s BMVI awarding €23.5M to hydrogen mobility projects

The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure believes hydrogen is a key resource to tackle climate change.

Germany’s BMVI (Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure) awarded €23.5 million to six hydrogen mobility projects.

Hydrogen mobility is key to reach climate protection goals, the BMVI says, and projects set to benefit from the funding include hydrogen-powered forklift trucks, buses, road sweepers and street scooters.

“Hydrogen, fuel cells and electricity move the future. We have seen many studies and pilot projects in recent years. We really need them on the road now—because today we have to convince citizens that the technology works and is a real milestone towards tomorrow’s carbon-neutral mobility,” said Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

The following projects received funding:

GHT Mobility GmbH (CleverShuttle), €754,622 for the procurement of 50 fuel cell vehicles to develop an innovative mobility offering based on IT-optimized ride pooling.
Deutsche Post DHL Group, €9,822,330 for the procurement of 500 fuel cell vehicles (street scooters) for use in the parcel delivery service at Deutsche Post DHL Group.
MAN & Shell with Anleg GmbH and TU Braunschweig, €8,121,251 for the development and testing of a fuel cell system for heavy-duty commercial vehicles as well as a mobile and self-sufficient refueling device.
FAUN Environmental Technology GmbH & Co. KG, €521,241 for the development of hydrogen fuel cell fuel garbage collection trucks and sweepers.
EvoBus GmbH, €3,309,652 for the development of a battery electric city bus with fuel cell range extender.
Günsel Fördertechnik and Fahrzeugbau GmbH, €1,024,094 for the procurement of 89 hydrogen-powered industrial trucks for intralogistic use at the BMW Leipzig plant.

The Federal Government supports the target of 100 hydrogen stations in Germany by 2020. There are currently 75 stations in operation with a further six completed, three in approval and 15 in planning.