The closure of the last operational OMV hydrogen refuelling station in Innsbruck on 30 September 2025 marks the loss of the West–East and North–South hub within the EU’s Green Brenner Corridor. Although Europe’s hydrogen highway — stretching today from Norway to Greece — continues to function, albeit with a thinner network, the Innsbruck closure represents a significant and largely unnoticed setback for both the transformation of the energy system and the Alpine transit strategy of Tyrol.
This publication is part of the Green Energy Center Europe’s documentation on systemic learning from hydrogen economy developments in Central Europe.

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A European Pioneering Project

In 2014, the European Union launched the HyFIVE – Hydrogen for Innovative Vehicles project under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) with the objective of turning hydrogen mobility into a European reality.
In Tyrol, the Codex Partners of the Green Energy Center Europe Hyundai and FEN Systems participated as direct and associated members of the HyFIVE consortium from the outset. Together with partners and stakeholders from Bolzano and Munich, they established the first continuous hydrogen highway section in Europe within the EU’s Green Corridor.
In 2015, OMV inaugurated one of Europe’s most advanced hydrogen refuelling stations in Innsbruck, thereby creating a small but functional network between Munich, Innsbruck and Bolzano. This connection enabled free travel along the hydrogen highway in the EU’s green Brenner Corridor.
Hyundai Motors supplied the first ix35 FCEVs to South Tyrol and Tyrol, while Linde, based in Munich, operated a small fleet of hydrogen vehicles to demonstrate the functionality of this pioneering infrastructure.

“Our commitment at that time aimed to demonstrate that Tyrol’s Climate, Energy and Resource Strategy Tirol 2050 energieautonom could only be achieved with green hydrogen as an essential pillar.”

This phase was more than a technological experiment – it represented an attempt to embed a new energy and mobility logic within the European framework.

From Momentum to Disillusionment

Despite its technical success, the economic basis of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure remained fragile. Usage levels were predictably low and insufficient to cover high operational costs. Public funding ensured the acquisition and construction of facilities but did not secure their ongoing operation.
Neither policy nor industry developed mechanisms capable of establishing a comprehensive hydrogen economy.
In early 2025, OMV announced the discontinuation of all public hydrogen refuelling stations in Austria – including Innsbruck. In Germany, H2 Mobility began to downsize its network by more than twenty stations. What functioned flawlessly from a technical perspective failed at the institutional and market level.

“We have been driving our Hyundai ix35 FCEV from the world’s first series for more than ten years without disruption. The fuel-cell electric vehicle is a highly developed mobility-service technology, ideally suited for long ranges, heavy loads, and rapid refuelling. It should be regarded as a complementary business and demand case for the transition towards a green hydrogen economy that substitutes oil and natural gas.”

The Innsbruck Hub and the European Hydrogen Highway

Innsbruck’s station was never an isolated facility but a crucial junction connecting Central Europe’s hydrogen mobility axes.
Its closure does not end the European hydrogen corridor, which still allows uninterrupted driving from Norway to Greece — as current users, such as Nikolaus Fleischhacker with the Hyundai Nexo, continue to demonstrate.
What has fallen, however, is the strategic interchange of the West–East and North–South routes in the Alpine region — a symbolic and functional loss for Europe’s integrated energy and mobility transformation.
For Tyrol, it represents a missed opportunity to combine the energy transition with a long-sought solution to the challenges of Alpine transit.

A Systemic Perspective on the Failure

The closure of the Innsbruck station is not the failure of individual actors, but rather evidence of structural weaknesses within the overall system.
Lack of Integration: Hydrogen mobility was perceived as an end in itself, rather than as part of a comprehensive energy system.
Fragmented Responsibilities: Policy, industry and research operated in separate spheres without stakeholder management or contribution-margin coordination.
Short-Term Funding Logic: Programmes expired before stable market structures could emerge.
The result was success without effect. The infrastructure became a demonstration rather than an entry point to a new energy era.

Lessons for the Future

The Innsbruck case illustrates that even functioning systems can become vulnerable when their institutional interfaces are neglected. The European hydrogen network remains technically operational, yet the removal of a key node in the Alpine corridor weakens its systemic coherence — with implications not only for the energy transition but also for sustainable transit solutions through the Alps.
The energy transition therefore requires more than technology and funding: it demands the institutional foresight to maintain connectivity across borders and sectors.
Privately organised partnerships such as the Green Energy Center Europe continue to pursue this integrative mission by developing business-plan-ready solutions for Power-to-Hydrogen and Power-on-Demand processes.

“We were never mere observers of events – we were part of history. And we continue to move forward.”

Chronology of Hydrogen Mobility in Tyrol and Central Europe (2014–2025)

2014–2016: Pioneering Phase and the Green Corridor

• Launch of HyFIVE – Hydrogen for Innovative Vehicles under FCH JU/FP7; target 110 → 185 FCEVs and six new stations (including Innsbruck), integrated with nine existing sites across London, Copenhagen, Bolzano, Innsbruck, Munich and Stuttgart.
• Bolzano-South: Hydrogen Centre with electrolysis plant operational since 2014; part of the North–South corridor along the A22.
• Innsbruck: OMV and Linde inaugurate the hydrogen refuelling station (21 May 2015); connection established between Stuttgart and Verona.
• Foundation of the Green Energy Center Europe (2016) as a private Codex Partnership supporting the Bridge into a Sustainable Green Future and the Transformation of the Energy System towards Climate Neutrality and Autonomy.

2016–2018: Scaling and Visibility

• Public opening of the GEC and first North–South hydrogen vehicle expeditions, including documented journeys from Tyrol to Norway (2017/2018) as proof of cross-continental feasibility.
• Expansion of Austria’s H₂ network (OMV station Asten/Linz 2016).

2019–2023: Application and Regional Demonstration

• Regional lighthouse projects such as HyWest, HyBus and the MPREIS Electrolysis Demo4Grid in Völs, Tyrol, advancing Power-to-Hydrogen integration.
• Ongoing scientific documentation of Tirol 2050 energieautonom as a strategic framework for systemic energy transition.

2024–2025: Consolidation and Dismantling

• From 2024 onwards, H2 Mobility Germany begins decommissioning stations (Koblenz, Derching, Wuppertal).
• By mid-2025, 22 German 700-bar passenger-car stations are permanently off-grid, shifting focus to heavy-duty applications.
• In Austria, OMV terminates all public stations (Asten, Graz, Wiener Neudorf, Innsbruck etc.) owing to persistent losses and limited demand, redirecting investment to fast-charging infrastructure.
• The GEC Farewell Tour (June/July 2025) documents the shutdown of key corridor nodes (e.g. Irschenberg) as historical turning points in Europe’s hydrogen development.

^{Authored by Dr. Ernst Fleischhacker, Green Energy Center Europe – October 2025.}