The transportation company broke ground on the facility at its own Training and Continuing Education Center for Digital and Climate-Neutral Mobility (AWM) on Peterheide. The industrial park is located in the western part of the town of Mechernich. The AWM is intended to offer driving and safety training to support the education and professional development of drivers. The engineering firm Ingenion GmbH is handling the planning and construction on behalf of RVK. However, the transportation company itself will operate the facility once it is completed.
The Federal Ministry of Transportation is providing a total of 15.1 million euros in funding for the project: 7.9 million euros are allocated to the fueling station, and 3.1 million euros to the electrolyzer. An additional 4.1 million euros come from an approved request for additional funding. The funding rate is thus 80 percent for the fueling station and 45 percent for the electrolyzer.
Gas station provides hydrogen for buses, cars, and trucks
The electrolyzer is expected to produce 36 kilograms of green hydrogen per hour. According to RVK, this corresponds to an hourly output of slightly more than two full tank refills for hydrogen buses. Furthermore, it takes less than ten minutes to fully refuel a bus. The company has put the power supply for hydrogen production out to bid; photovoltaic and wind power plants are being considered.
The gas station will feature two dispensers, each with a pressure capacity of 350 bar for buses, and one dispenser with a pressure capacity of 700 bar for passenger cars and trucks. The waste heat generated during hydrogen production will be used in the future to provide district heating for the AWM buildings.
RVK Managing Director Dr. Marcel Frank explained: “Since the gas station is open to the public, we are bringing this zero-emission form of propulsion beyond our company’s boundaries and into the region.”
A second facility is being built simultaneously in Bergisch Gladbach
Mechernich is set to be one of two locations where RVK plans to produce green hydrogen in the future. Another facility is being built in parallel at the “Grüner Mobilhof” in Bergisch Gladbach , which is currently under construction. The transportation company’s new depot is designed to house vehicles with alternative powertrains and will also feature a hydrogen refueling station with an integrated electrolyzer (as reported by H2News). Both facilities are scheduled to begin operations in late 2026.
The AWM itself is still in the planning phase; a funding application for the 114-million-euro project was recently submitted to the Cologne District Government. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2027.
