Air Products to build a HRS with liquid storage in Ghent on the territories of Volvo Group.

Air Products plans to develop a hydrogen fueling station (HRS) at the Volvo Group site in the port of Ghent, Belgium.

The hydrogen fueling station will be part of a zero-emission mobility hub.

The project was announced at the North Sea Port Conference by Kurt Lefevere, Air Products' Vice President for Benelux, Germany, and France, Roel Vissers, Chief Growth Officer Milence, and Joris De Vulder, Director of Business Control of Volvo Group Ghent.

The collaboration effort underlines a shared commitment to sustainability and aims to advance zero-emission (heavy-duty) infrastructure and transportation at the port, as well as in the region. The zero-emission mobility hub is fully aligned with the EU’s Green Deal objective of a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 2050.

The mobility hub, located at the Volvo Group site in Ghent behind the Schansakker exit on the R4, will be publicly accessible. Located in the port area, near many logistics companies and hubs, the mobility hub will allow efficient zero-emission fueling/charging of a substantial number of heavy-duty vehicles.

This large-scale hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) with liquid hydrogen storage in Ghent will be built and operated by Air Products in addition to other liquid HRSs the company is developing throughout Europe. 

"This project will kick off the start of the energy transition in mobility for heavy-duty transport in the North Sea Port in Ghent", commented Kurt Lefevere. "We are proud to develop our HRS project at the territory of Volvo Group and be selected as a hydrogen partner for the zero-emission mobility hub. This HRS, once fully operational, would be supplied with renewable hydrogen. Air Products has over 60 years of experience in safe and reliable hydrogen operations, including production, storage and distribution and is a first mover in the energy transition, having committed $15 billion dollars to clean hydrogen projects around the globe. This project shows our commitment to further develop a large-scale hydrogen refueling station network covering Belgium and Europe on TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Network) and, as such, to contribute to the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) objectives.”

"This project is close to my heart. 'Shaping the world we want to live', Volvo Group's vision of the future of transport, is a great motivation for me to go to work every day full of energy and enthusiasm. With the arrival of the mobility hub, we are taking another step in the sustainable transformation of our site. Thanks to the combination of electric charging and hydrogen refuelling, we are doing our bit for a greener future for the transport sector and can focus even more on making the supply chain to and from the warehouse and the truck factory more sustainable."- Koen Leemans, VP Volvo Trucks Gent.

Press release Volvo Group (in Dutch)