Mobile hydrogen station puts Weser-Ems-Bus fleet on the road right away in Northern Germany

In Jever, northern Germany, six hydrogen buses have been running in regular passenger service since December 2025. What makes the start remarkable is how it became possible: not with a permanent refuelling station, but with a mobile hydrogen station. That allowed the buses to hit the road right away, while the permanent station only comes into service later in 2026.

A smart answer to a practical problem

The switch to hydrogen transport requires three things to align: the vehicles, the refuelling infrastructure and the fuel supply. In practice, those schedules do not always match up. A mobile station offers a solution: it bridges the period until the permanent station is ready, so a project does not have to wait.

That is exactly what is happening in Jever, in the Friesland district in the state of Lower Saxony. Weser-Ems-Bus, a subsidiary of DB Regio, put six fuel-cell buses from Portuguese manufacturer CaetanoBus into service. They refuel at a mobile station at their own depot. Once the permanent station in Schortens, in the JadeWeserPark business park, is ready, refuelling will move there.

Who does what

The project brings several partners together. The mobile station is owned by research institute ttz Bremerhaven and operated by MoviaTec, which ensures safe and reliable operation. Green hydrogen producer Lhyfe supplies the fuel. The Friesland district and Weser-Ems-Bus handle the operation of the buses.

The station operates at 350 bar, the standard pressure for hydrogen buses and commercial vehicles. Beforehand, several refuelling scenarios were modelled based on the expected hydrogen demand. In daily practice, refuelling turns out to be even faster than the models predicted.

Green hydrogen from renewable sources

Lhyfe supplies RFNBO-certified green hydrogen, which meets the European Union's strictest sustainability requirements. The company has four certified production sites, a fleet of more than eighty Type IV transport containers and around fifteen storage locations across Europe. This secures a continuous supply of sustainable hydrogen.

The project forms part of Deutsche Bahn's broader strategy to roll out clean drivetrains. The German Ministry of Transport supports the fleet conversion with around €16.5 million. Soon, about one in ten DB buses in Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein will run emission-free.

Why this matters

Alongside battery-electric, hydrogen is a zero-emission solution for public transport. For municipalities looking to green their fleets, this project shows that you do not have to wait for permanent infrastructure to get started. The mobile station is a scalable model that speeds up the launch of hydrogen projects.

For regional bus services with longer routes and full days on the road, hydrogen fits well: fast refuelling and long range keep the timetable running smoothly. A mobile station also makes the rollout flexible, easing the load on the grid during the build-up phase. In this way, the supply of emission-free transport grows step by step, without unnecessary delay.

Sources:

• Fuel Cells Works – Lhyfe powers Weser-Ems-Bus hydrogen fleet with mobile refuelling station (July 2026)

• Sustainable Bus – Weser-Ems-Bus launches hydrogen buses with Lhyfe-backed mobile refuelling station in Lower Saxony (July 2026)

• AJOT – A mobile green hydrogen refueling station enables immediate deployment of a hydrogen bus fleet in Northern Germany (July 2026)

• H2 Bulletin – Mobile hydrogen refuelling station accelerates zero-emission bus rollout in Northern Germany (July 2026)

• NOW GmbH – Weser-Ems-Bus: Friesland district embraces hydrogen buses (December 2025)