Why this oil superpower is building 100 hydrogen filling stations in Europe

The oil superpower TotalEnergies and the chemical group Air Liquide will jointly invest heavily in hydrogen. The two companies will jointly set up 100 hydrogen filling stations in the Benelux countries, Germany and France.

The hydrogen stations are not built for cars, but for trucks. “Hydrogen offers clear advantages for heavy mobility. In order to promote its use, it is essential to accelerate the development of the refueling infrastructure and to provide vehicle manufacturers and transport companies with a sufficiently dense network of refueling stations,” said Matthieu Giard, Vice President and member of the Air Liquide Group.

Oil power plant invests in 100 hydrogen filling stations in Europe

The cooperation between the two companies should therefore supply Europe with further hydrogen filling stations. The construction of the stations, the purchasing and distribution of hydrogen, and the maintenance and manning of the stations will all be performed by the joint venture. The hydrogen filling stations will bear the name “Total” on the facade.

Although this hydrogen fueling station project is aimed at trucks, there are also passenger cars that run on the fuel. For example, Toyota has the Mirai, and the brand ultimately believes that one shouldn’t rule out powertrains until the right one – the greenest – is found. The development of hydrogen cars has therefore not yet been stopped by the brand.

Toyota Mirai

Autovisie editor Dries van den Elzen previously drove Toyota’s hydrogen car. Although the special car actually drives electrically, it has one advantage: you can refuel. You can see exactly how hydrogen car technology works in the video below.