Royal Dutch Shell – the company behind Shell Omala S2 G 320 and Shell Tellus S2 M 46 – is set to roll out hydrogen pumps at all of its European petrol stations.
The company will soon install hydrogen fuel pumps alongside its diesel and unleaded fuel, in a view to encouraging more motorists to adopt hydrogen powered fuel-cell electric vehicles.
In September, Shell agreed to test out hydrogen pumps in the South East of England. This month, the company has agreed to install around 400 hydrogen fuelling pumps across Germany, and is considering its options for expansion into a number of territories, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and USA.
Shell look at hydrogen vehicle uptake as a ‘chicken and egg situation’ whereby fuel-cell electric vehicles will only be adopted by motorists if they are able to fuel their vehicles with ease, and this means that the infrastructure needs to be in place before they buy. However, it also means that companies like Shell would need to invest in said infrastructure when it may not appear commercially attractive to do so.
Hydrogen powered vehicles are great for the environment, because they do not release any emissions, except water vapour from the exhaust pipe, while having the same capabilities as the average car in all of the important ways. This is why Shell is exploring its options regarding hydrogen technology, in a bid to reduce transport emissions.
