Düsseldorf expands regional hydrogen supply

According to the municipal utilities company Stadtwerke Düsseldorf, the most powerful hydrogen refueling station in Europe has been located on Höherweg in Düsseldorf since last year. Until now, the station has been supplied with hydrogen via truck trailers to fuel Rheinbahn’s fuel cell buses, among other things. With the commissioning of its first electrolyzer in July 2026, Stadtwerke Düsseldorf is now producing hydrogen on-site for the first time. A direct pipeline transports the hydrogen to the neighboring public hydrogen refueling station operated by H2 Mobility. 

The electricity used in the production process comes from the biogenic fraction of waste processed at the Düsseldorf-Flingern waste-to-energy plant. The two-megawatt electrolyzer uses this energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This creates a sustainable regional value chain – from the thermal recycling of municipal waste through electricity and hydrogen production to distribution at the refueling station. 

The facility is designed to handle large volumes and various types of vehicles. It has the capacity to produce up to five metric tons of hydrogen per day, which could theoretically refuel more than 100 buses. This makes the facility future-proof, meeting the needs of Rheinbahn, which currently operates 20 hydrogen buses and plans to expand its fleet significantly in the future.