Hydrogen EV Charging: A Carbon-Zero Energy Bridge Across Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

GenCell EVOX EV Charging Station.
Photo: GenCell

GenCell deploys new green, grid-independent hydrogen-based EV charging solution that can run 24/7 – anywhere.

GenCell is deploying first of their kind autonomous EV charging stations at some 8 sites across Israel that can fill the gap when grid power is insufficient. The rapid recent rise in EV sales in Israel is driving a demand for more EV charging stations to quell EV drivers’ range anxiety; more charging is dependent on more power. This new zero-emission solution, available now and rapid to deploy, facilitates the expansion of EVs in any location regardless of grid conditions, enabling green transportation across MENA and around the world.

Beyond Israel and around the world the rise of EV sales is faster than the charging infrastructure can support, causing a power gap. To meet the electricity demand from EV charging in Europe, Ernst Young estimated the need for an additional 200TWh by the end of this decade.1 In response to Joe Biden’s EV policies, some 48 million electric vehicles are expected on U.S. roads by 2030 , requiring twenty times the quantity of chargers available today.2 Development of EV charging infrastructure in response to these trends is slow and uneven; off-grid stations can fill this gap anywhere the grid is insufficient; including across MENA where hydrogen will act as a bridge to regional cooperation.

MENA’s sustainability focus

Traditional energy powers in the Middle East are being supplemented by clean energy hubs incorporating technologies that enable power for humanity in remote locations that to date have suffered from insufficient electricity. Private and public policy makers, investors and entrepreneurs are gathering at COP27 to accelerate investments in renewable power generation and hydrogen storage in the countries where sun and wind are plentiful, developing these economies via profitable export of hydrogen to Europe to replace fossil fuels.

Leveraging innovative technologies to accelerate renewable power generation and hydrogen storage in the Middle East and Africa drives regional cooperation and expands the local adoption of clean energy; note that this example of zero-emission EV charging in Israel can propel similar deployments in off and weak grid locations across MENA as well as in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere.

Hydrogen fueled solutions

Only a few hundred kilometers from Sharm el Sheikh – in conjunction with the COP27 Climate Conference – EV Pure Energy is deploying the first revolutionary hydrogen-fueled EV charging solutions powered by GenCell hydrogen-to-power at sites across Israel. Combining hybrid renewable energy sources with storage and hydrogen fuel cells, the solution optimizes power performance while ensuring power for 24/7 fast charging anywhere, in any grid conditions.

The hydrogen-to-power technologies adapted for the EVOX EV charging solution also deliver long-duration backup and off-grid power for continuous telecom connectivity. They aim to displace pollutant diesel generators powering telecom towers that emit almost 7 million metric tons of CO2 per year – equal to some 3% of the industry’s annual emissions.

Looking to reduce hydrogen fueling cost and complexity, GenCell has also developed ammonia-topower technologies, launching in 2022 the FOX™ off-grid power solution now being tested by Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and several other telecom operators and tower managers. As the availability of hydrogen and ammonia increases, MNOs in remote locations in MENA will be able to leverage these weather-resistant, lowmaintenance and theft-adverse solutions.

Managing the climate crisis by meeting decarbonization goals while at the same time meeting the increasing global demand for power will be a challenge, but continued investment in hydrogen technologies – enabling resilient, zero-emission, extended runtime power solutions – plays a key role in meeting these objectives.

GenCell at a Glance

  • Develops innovative fuel cell & green ammonia technology; products deployed in 22 countries
  • Traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (GNCL)
  • 9 Patents
  • 150 Employees
  • 1,250 accumulated R&D man-years

  1. “As eMobility accelerates, can utilities move EVs into the fast lane?”, Ernst Young Dec 2020.

  2. Building the electric-vehicle charging infrastructure America needs – McKinsey 2022 – Philipp Kampshoff, Adi Kumar, Shannon Peloquin, Shivika Sahdev.

Share this page