First hydrogen filling station opened in Belgium

Jun 3, 2008 - Reuters - Market Wire

Munich - The first Belgian hydrogen filling station was inaugurated today in Brussels by Total in the presence of the Flemish Ministry for Economy, Enterprise, Science, Innovation and Foreign Trade. Linde developed the technology which allows the low-temperature liquid hydrogen to be stored next to the station, as well as the refuelling system. The Total filling station, which is situated on the Paris-bound carriageway of the E19 motorway, was built as part of the cooperation of BMW and Total.

"As a pioneer in hydrogen technology Linde has a particular responsibility to promote sustainable mobility based on hydrogen", said Dr Aldo Belloni, member of the Executive Board of Linde AG. "It is vitally important that we work in tandem with politicians, scientists and economic decision-makers in order to continue to develop and improve the infrastructures and technologies required for the use of hydrogen as a fuel."

"Within the framework of its commitment towards a sustainable development, the TOTAL group has been investing for several years into research & development on hydrogen as a fuel", explains Miguel del Marmol, Managing Director of TOTAL BELGIUM. "With this new station, TOTAL shows that the distribution of' hydrogen can be perfectly integrated in a motorway service station."

Linde, which is a leading supplier of industrial gases and the world's largest manufacturer of hydrogen plants, has been powering ahead with the development of hydrogen technology for years. Almost all the filling stations in the world which supply liquid hydrogen are equipped with Linde refuelling technology. The advantage of liquid hydrogen (LH2) over compressed gaseous hydrogen (CGH2) is that it has a significantly higher energy density. This higher energy density means that more energy can be saved when the hydrogen is transported from the production site to the filling station than is required for the liquefaction of the gas. The amount of space required to store liquid hydrogen at the filling station is much less than for gaseous hydrogen.

The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with more than 50,000 employees working in around 100 countries worldwide. In the 2007 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 12.3 billion. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment - in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.

For more information, see The Linde Group web site at www. linde.com

For additional information:

Press Investor Relations Uwe Wolfinger Thomas Eisenlohr Telephone: +49.89.35757-1320 Telephone: +49.89.35757-1330

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