The first hydrogen charging station in Bulgaria and the region will be unveiled at 11 Iskarsko Shose Street in Sofia at 11 a.m. on Friday, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and the HITMOBIL – Technologies and Systems for Clean Energy Generation, Storage and Consumption Centre of Competence with the Academician Evgeni Budevski Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems (IEES) at BAS said.

The hydrogen charging station in Sofia marks the beginning of hydrogen electric mobility in Bulgaria. Aquachim, Monbat and Delectra are the project’s main contractors.

The hydrogen charging station is manufactured by the Austrian company EDC-Anlagentechnik. Hydrogen is produced by electrolysis, with a daily capacity of 8 kilograms per day. The hydrogen produced on-site is fed directly into the hydrogen charging station, where it is compressed to the pressure necessary for refuelling. The station has two charging outlets: 350 bar and 700 bar. The two standard pressures cover the charging capabilities of cars, light trucks and heavy trucks, and the use of high-pressure buffer tanks enables charging within minutes. For larger consumption, the hydrogen charging station can use hydrogen from cylinder groups produced from other sources.

The station's high-pressure vessels can store up to 70 kilograms of compressed hydrogen, which can provide up to 7,000 kilometres of range. Its hydrogen compression capability is some 40-50 kilograms per day, which is enough to refuel 10-15 cars or two buses daily.

The HITMOBIL project is implemented under a grant from the EU-co-financed Operational Programme Science and Education for Smart Growth.