Only with the inclusion of hydrogen and biomethane will the Czech Republic fulfill its obligations to reduce emissions in transport. New technologies attracted hundreds of representatives of energy companies, professional organizations and technology suppliers to the Gas Mobility Day 2022. The event of the Czech Gas Association (ČPS) presented news from the field of gas mobility, plans for its further development and the potential of renewable gases in particular, such as BioCNG, BioLNG and hydrogen.

“Gas mobility is far from ending with CNG passenger cars. It has potential in many other segments of transport. For example, in freight transport, LNG is the only sufficiently powerful alternative to diesel. The ecological benefit is further enhanced by the use of renewable biomethane and hydrogen propulsion, the development of which is also intensively worked on,” said Veronika Vohlídková, Acting Executive Director of ČPS, and added: “The advantages of gas mobility such as ecology, performance and availability are indisputable. The Gas Mobility Day showed new trends that were not stopped even by current developments in the field of energy. There was general agreement that, as in the field of electromobility, further development is conditional on state support.”

For example, Vojtěch Hromíř, general secretary of the ČESMAD BOHEMIA Association of Automobile Carriers, called for a consistent approach and support from the government at the event. “The amount of investment that the previous EU policy caused on the part of public administration, producers and users is huge. In our case alone, it is hundreds of millions in filling stations and vehicles. Even rich Europe should not afford to throw away projects supported by the EU budget and thwart investments by private entities. Moreover, today’s turbulent times prove how easily direction can be reversed. Coal is being burned in power plants again and views on energy sources are changing. This is also why I still consider gas to be a suitable fuel for transport in the years to come.”

The Union of Cities and Towns of the Czech Republic (SMO ČR) also considers the current situation to be a turning point in the debate on the future of gas use and gas mobility related to it. Many municipalities and cities have chosen gas in search of alternative drives for public transport vehicles. “Currently, gas mobility is facing several problems. First of all, it is again shown that cities and municipalities need to have diversified public transport, so that they are not dependent on one source of energy. Another stumbling block is that supporting the development and production of innovative solutions alone is not enough. For a long time, there has been a lack of legislative and financial tools to enable municipalities and cities to put these solutions into practice and thus into life. No less significant is the absence of skilled workers not only for their procurement, but also for their operation,” said Radka Vladyková, executive director of the SMO CR, adding: “Gas mobility certainly has potential despite the current problems. However, the removal of the aforementioned barriers for its future is needed as soon as possible. Every day of delay makes future investments significantly more expensive.”

The Czech Hydrogen Technology Platform (HYTEP) also perceives Gas Mobility Day as a suitable opportunity to point out alternatives in the context of reducing emissions in transport. At the event, she informed about the current state of legislation in the field of hydrogen mobility, especially in the context of freight transport. “Gas Mobility Day is a traditional event that allows the professional public to discuss topics that are not usually part of the main discourse today, but can clearly contribute to the decarbonization of transport. Focusing on hydrogen mobility is especially important for HYTEP. This is a huge topic in Western Europe, but we are starting to see growing interest, especially in the segment of heavier transport, also in the Czech Republic,” said Aleš Doucek, chairman of the board of HYTEP, and added: “However, for faster development, we need constant and unchanging support from the state . In the future, we believe that hydrogen mobility projects will also start to be connected with innovative methods of low-carbon hydrogen production. In particular, thanks to the use of renewable energy sources, entire value chains necessary to build a hydrogen economy will be able to begin to form.”

The Gas Mobility Day 2022 took place at the premises of Pražská plynárenská in Michla, Prague, with the participation of more than two hundred visitors from the professional public. At the event, the current and upcoming offer of passenger, commercial and truck vehicles and buses powered by hydrogen or natural gas and other technologies related to gas mobility were on display. Visitors could also take part in several expert seminars and learn not only information about the further development of gas mobility, planned investments and news, but also about the biggest obstacles that slow down development and their possible solutions.

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