Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH (RVK) has received two funding approvals totaling 29.5 million euros for the construction of the Green Mobility Depot (GMH) in Bergisch Gladbach. The approving authority is go.Rheinland. Approximately 8.6 million euros are allocated for the acquisition of the property, site preparation, and the creation of parking areas. An additional approximately 20.9 million euros is provided by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia for the hydrogen refueling station, the electrolyser, charging facilities for electric buses, and specific workshop equipment. According to RVK, the total project volume is around 60 million euros. Cost and schedule are reportedly being adhered to by RVK.
Electrolyser with 36 kilograms of hydrogen per hour
The technical heart of the Green Mobility Depot will be a hydrogen facility with a refueling station and electrolyser. The facility is expected to produce 36 kilograms of hydrogen per hour. An RVK hydrogen bus typically has a tank capacity of 16 kilograms. Thus, the facility can provide a little more than two bus tank fillings per hour. For liquefaction and compression, the hydrogen is cooled to minus 40 degrees Celsius. The waste heat generated during electrolysis is to be used as local heating for the buildings. Additionally, RVK plans to keep the access road to the depot and the car wash frost-free using the waste heat.
For the production of green hydrogen, RVK has tendered the power supply. According to the company, photovoltaic and wind power plants are considered. It must be regularly demonstrated that at the time of hydrogen production, electricity from the commissioned plants is fed into the grid.
Depot for more than 40 buses
The Green Mobility Depot includes an inspection hall, a parking deck, an administration building, a vehicle wash, a bus carport, and the hydrogen facility. Over 40 buses can be accommodated there, with 32 bus parking spaces equipped with electric charging stations. All free roof areas are both greened and equipped with photovoltaic systems. The solar cells are intended to cover the depot's own electricity needs—excluding the electrolyser. Excess solar power is stored in batteries and used to charge the electric buses. Rainwater is collected via the roofs and used for watering the green areas. The vehicle wash operates with a closed water cycle.
Hydrogen unit to be completed by the end of 2026
According to RVK, significant progress is visible on the construction site. The shell construction work is expected to be completed next autumn. The hydrogen unit is to be the first component of the Green Mobility Depot to be completed by the end of the year and subsequently commence operations. According to RVK, work on the building complexes is expected to be completed by mid-2027.
“With the Green Mobility Depot and the planned training and further education center for climate-neutral and digital mobility in Mechernich, RVK is realizing two major projects that set the course for modern and future-proof mobility,” says RVK Managing Director Marcel Frank.
Holger Fritsch, Head of Public Transport Investment Funding at go.Rheinland, classifies the project: “Buses with hydrogen in the tank are needed where purely electric operation reaches local limits. This demonstrates what an optimal value chain looks like.”
Minister Oliver Krischer: “Important step” for the entire federal state
For Oliver Krischer, Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the construction of the Green Mobility Depot is also “an important step for the transport transition and climate protection throughout North Rhine-Westphalia.”
