BeeZero car-sharing service in Munich area
Linde’s newly founded subsidiary, Linde Hydrogen Concepts, is launching the world’s first car-sharing service under the BeeZero brand name, which will exclusively use hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).
‘Bavaria is a leader in hydrogen technology, and BeeZero constitutes the first large-scale deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technology in the car-sharing industry,’ says Ilse Aigner, the Economics and Energy Minister in Bavaria.
Learning from day-to-day fleet operations
‘We expect to gain valuable information from day-to-day fleet operations, which we will use to further develop our hydrogen technologies and to help expanding the H2 infrastructure,’ explains Dr Christian Bruch, member of the Executive Board of Linde AG.
Bruch continues: ‘BeeZero synergises two mobility trends that are gaining a lot of ground at the moment – car sharing and zero emissions – and will bring the benefits of fuel cell technology to a wider group of potential users.’
Fleet of 50 Hyundai FCEVs
The new car-sharing service will be run on a zone-based model. The BeeZero fleet will comprise 50 Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell cars, which will be available in the city centre and also in the areas of Schwabing, Haidhausen, Au, and Glockenbachviertel.
This will be the world’s first major fleet of FCEVs run by a single operator. As with conventional car-sharing services, the cars can be booked online or via a smartphone app.
Customer-focused and sustainable
FCEVs can travel more than 640 miles (400 km) on a single tank. This means that – unlike battery-powered electric cars – the hydrogen-powered vehicles are also ideal for medium-distance journeys, for example, to the Bavarian lakes or the mountains, and not just for short trips in the city. BeeZero therefore offers a new, competitively priced car-sharing concept that fills a gap in the existing service landscape.
Unless the customer chooses otherwise, the cars will be refueled by BeeZero employees. The hydrogen is sourced exclusively from sustainable production processes, making it completely carbon-neutral.
The company is applying for project funding to the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP II), an initiative run by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). This co-funding would enable the project’s range and scope to be substantially enlarged.
Leading the way in hydrogen technology
Linde has been producing hydrogen on a large scale for its industrial customers for more than a century. Today, the company is a leading supplier of hydrogen refueling solutions, and offers a number of unique products, such as its robust, low-maintenance ionic compressor and its cryopump (cryogenic pump).
The company is a founding member of key initiatives such as the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) and H2 Mobility Deutschland. The company is also willing to explore new and unusual paths, such as the prototype electric bicycle powered by a fuel cell it unveiled last October.