SOCAR OPENS FIRST HYDROGEN FILLING STATION ON SWISS MOTORWAY
The Grauholz motorway service station outside Bern was the scene of the opening ceremony of SOCAR’s first hydrogen filling station. This means that there are now a total of 15 hydrogen filling stations in operation in Switzerland, but what makes this one special is that it is located directly on the motorway. This is another milestone for hydrogen mobility in Switzerland.
More than 100 guests present at the official event representing various companies, the media and government agencies showed great interest in the proceedings. The guests of honour included Christoph Neuhaus, member of the Executive Council of the Canton of Bern and Head of the Bern Construction and Transport Directorate (BVD), Jürg Röthlisberger, Director of the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO), Fuad Isgandarov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan, SOCAR’s home country and Edgar Bachmann, CEO of SOCAR.
Everyone present at the ceremony heard a common theme running through the speeches: in addition to praise for SOCAR’s major commitment to environmentally friendly solutions, the speakers were generous in the thanks they expressed to the authorities, without whose support this challenging project could not have been completed. And particularly Executive Council member as well as Christoph Neuhaus and Astra Director Jürg Röthlisberger emphasised that for them hydrogen mobility will be part of the solution for phasing out fossil fuels.
After the hydrogen facilities were officially declared open, the guests were able to witness at close hand a Toyota Miray car and a Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell truck filling their tanks at the new fuel pump.