Northern Germany pushes for greater hydrogen use with pilot project cluster

Germany’s push for greater hydrogen use is gaining momentum. Some 50 representatives from business, science and government have come together to promote 25 projects in northern Germany that show how hydrogen can play a key role in the country’s energy transition by making possible a CO2-free energy supply, according to a report by German news agency dpa carried by Süddeutsche Zeitung. As part of the Norddeutsches Reallabor (North German Real Laboratory), an energy transition alliance aimed at saving large amounts of CO2 through consistent sector coupling, particularly with hydrogen applications, stakeholders are planning investments of 355 million euros over the next few years, including 122 million euros of state funding. The endeavour, in which the northern states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are taking part, will comprise 12 large demonstration plants and projects for the production and use of green hydrogen. "It's about a holistic transformation of the energy system," said project manager Werner Beba. The project aims to save more than 500,000 tonnes of C02 per year, with the goal of illustrating how 75 percent of CO2 emissions can be saved in the region by 2035.

The efforts of the North German Real Laboratory are in line with the federal government's recently unveiled hydrogen strategy, which calls for hydrogen as a universal energy source, generated with renewable energy sources in many economic sectors.