Logan Energy chosen by TÜV SÜD to deliver an industry-leading facility for testing hydrogen refuelling stations

Since 2005, Logan Energy have supported the development and deployment of zero-emissions technologies throughout the UK and Europe, by successfully delivering integrated hydrogen technologies. They have demonstrated their expertise on several projects including SEAFUEL, a €3.6 million project which aims to demonstrate the sustainable integration of renewable fuels into transportation. They will use their extensive industry experience to ensure the facility is equipped to deliver robust and accurate test results.

Bill Ireland, CEO of Logan Energy, said: “This is an exciting collaboration between two Scotland-based teams and is fantastic recognition of our expertise and experience in delivering hydrogen systems and refuelling stations. This project is all about accuracy in a process that has proved difficult to control. We will be setting industry standards to ensure accuracy when it comes to refuelling vehicles. As hydrogen becomes more of an everyday experience, consumers can be reassured that they will know they are getting what they are paying for. This is particularly important for large users of fuel such as heavy goods vehicles, buses, and trains where inaccuracies when refuelling can result in much larger errors.”

Dr Martin Hanton, Technical Director at TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory, said: “The design of petrol and diesel refuelling stations is highly standardised and if hydrogen FCEVs are to become a viable transport choice, then establishing a standardised refuelling infrastructure is crucial. Ensuring the consumer gets what they pay for at the refuelling station necessitates accuracy at the nozzle, not the meter. We must therefore bring the calibration facility to the refuelling station and that is precisely what we will do with our new mobile primary standard,” concluded Hanton.

The international accuracy requirements for HRS fuel dispensers are mandated as plus or minus 2% for new installations but current ranges can be anywhere between plus or minus 1-10%. At the moment, Trading Standards are not able to investigate if a customer questions the dispensed volume. This project is filling the gap by providing a new mobile facility that will be able to provide a measurement traceability for the UK.

Marc MacDonald, Head of Clean Fuels at TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory, said: “From our involvement in EU projects such as MetroHyVe, it is clear that the dispensed quantity performance of HRS can be variable, in part due to inconsistency in design. We have seen that compliance with the prevailing regulation (OIML R-139) is possible, but not always achieved, especially if less than a full tank fill is delivered. We will use our new mobile facility to work with industry and test HRS for compliance with the regulations, which is essential to ensure public support for FCEVs use.”