REFUELING

The big advantage  with filling up hydrogen compared to charging an electric car is huge in terms of time, it doesn't take longer than filling up a petrol or diesel car, i.e. about 2-5 minutes depending on the size of the tank. Charging an electric car at home takes about 8-12 hours, at a charging station with a so-called fast charger with a higher voltage you can shorten it to about 20 minutes. But, then you have not reached a full charge on the batteries, only about 80%.

The refueling of hydrogen is done from a pressure tank at the station into the car, where it is also pressurized. The pressure in a truck tank is 350 bar, in a car it is 700 bar. The gas is pressurized to accommodate more, but as mentioned earlier there is a constant development, which means that those figures already might have changed.

The risk assessment that an accident could happen when refueling, will be presented in a different module that concentrates on just that matter “Charging stations”. But due to the high pressure in the tanks, there is a potential risk of leakage, as the gas is many times lighter than air. The pressure will increase, and since refueling usually takes place outdoors, it increases quickly and mixes with the air . If, on the other hand, it gets stuck under a roof and some form of thermal ignition occurs, there is a great risk of a rapid fire. It is therefore of great importance that there are sensors that can give an early warning of gas leaks and that the premises in which leaks may occur are equipped so that ventilation devices can be quickly activated.