Question 8: What is the difference between a public hydrogen filling station and a private hydrogen filling station?

Answer: The main difference is that private hydrogen filling stations serve a closed group of customers, that is, a closed company, or even a private group of individuals. At such stations, as a rule, only the hydrogen consumption by mobile devices is recorded. Therefore, there is no need for a commercial measurement of the amount of hydrogen consumed in order to accurately calculate the price. In this case, the purchase price of a private filling station will be significantly lower. The high pressure compressed hydrogen reservoir can be optimized according to the station’s operating mode, which can also be done with low filling rates.

A public hydrogen filling station serves the public and must be equipped with commercial instruments for measuring the amount of hydrogen consumed and must have a valid metrological certification (see Act No. 505/1990 Coll.). A public hydrogen filling station must also be equipped with a large supply of compressed hydrogen to meet the population’s irregular needs of fuel. These are usually high-speed filling stations. For public hydrogen filling stations, Act No. 311/2006 Coll. Is applicable.

From the point of view of operational safety, both variants of gas stations are equivalent. When designing and manufacturing devices of this class, the principles of maximum safety and operational reliability are always observed.