Helsinki’s first hydrogen fuelling station opened on Wednesday at Vuosaari Harbour. It’s the second such unit in Finland, following the pilot station that operated for about a year in Rovaniemi. Hydrogen-powered vehicles are still being tested in Finland, with the first consumer models expect to hit the market in 2015.
A hydrogen car operates in a similar way as an electric car, but has a much longer driving range on one “tankful”.
“On one 3-4 minute fuel-up, you can drive 500-600 kilometres, so the operational radius is very competitive,” says Kalevi Korjala, CEO of the Woikoski gas company.
"Significant role within 10-20 years"
Despite its advantages, the introduction of hydrogen cars has lagged behind that of electric cars since the turn of the millennium. Developing the cars and particularly the fuelling system has been slow and costly. However Environment Minister Ville Niinistö is bullish about the new technology.
“Certainly hydrogen cars will play a significant role within 10-20 years, and it will grow from then on. This is an emissions-free way to travel and hydrogen is a resource that’s plentiful,” he told Yle at Wednesday’s opening ceremony.
The Ministry of Transport is now deciding how the installation of more hydrogen filling stations could be accelerated. Niinistö urges municipalities to show a good example.
“Within a five-year timetable, say, cities could move toward acquiring hydrogen busses for mass transit,” he suggests. “And at industrial facilities, it’ll be possible to operate forklifts on hydrogen within the next few years.”
Hydrogen fuels costs about 10 euros per kilo, which translates into 50-60 euros per fuelling, or roughly the same as a tank of E95 petrol. Hydrogen cars’ maximum speed is around 160 kph – and they work better in cold weather than electric cars.