Hydrogen | Energy of the future
As an elementary component of sector coupling, hydrogen can link the electricity sector with the heat and mobility sector. This is because as the generation of electricity from renewable energies increases, the electricity grids are reaching their capacity limits.
The generation of hydrogen from surplus electricity through the process of electrolysis is one way of storing the energy and making it available at a later date and in a flexible manner at a given location.
Brandenburg is in the top group nationwide in the production of renewable energies. The capital region and Lusatia as a region of structural change offer special test fields for the production and use of hydrogen.
The players in the Berlin-Brandenburg Energy Technology Cluster are very committed to promoting research and application of hydrogen technology in the capital region.
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Networking the hydrogen economy in Berlin-Brandenburg
Berlin-Brandenburg wants to build up the hydrogen economy. Brandenburg occupies a top position nationwide in electricity generation from renewable energies and offers ideal conditions for the production of green hydrogen. At the same time, there are large potential customers from industry that need the green hydrogen to decarbonise their production processes. And the transport and logistics sector in the capital region also offers an ideal testing ground for the use of fuel cell-powered vehicles and synthetic fuels.
Based on the "Roadmap for the development of a hydrogen economy in Brandenburg and the capital region", the state of Brandenburg has developed the hydrogen strategy. This hydrogen strategy summarises over 63 options for action for the development of the hydrogen economy. We want to bring together all actors along the value chain of green hydrogen, from production to services and the ultimate application of hydrogen. To this end, we offer new tools for digital networking as well as the development of hydrogen value chains:
A Community for the Hydrogen Economy Berlin-Brandenburg
In the "Hydrogen Economy Berlin-Brandenburg" group on the new Brandenburg Cooperation Platform (KoopBB), we will offer you an overview of current funding competitions and regional events, provide further information on the topic of hydrogen and funding, and also organise events directly via the platform.
We look forward to working with you to create a digital communication tool for the development of the hydrogen economy in our region with added value. Use the group to exchange ideas with other group members, find project consortia, share important information and also promote your own events.
Network with (hydrogen) actors from our region at koop-bb.de/groups/wasserstoffwirtschaft-berlin-brandenburg.
A marketplace for the hydrogen economy Berlin-Brandenburg
The digital hydrogen marketplace presents hydrogen needs and offers on interactive maps, also with a view to the future. You can post your own plans, offers and requests along the entire hydrogen value chain. This allows companies to quickly and efficiently get involved in the hydrogen economy and contribute to building the value chain.
Plan the hydrogen infrastructure of tomorrow at: www.localiser.de/wasserstoff-infrastruktur-planen.
Actors and initiatives
In Brandenburg and Berlin, there are already a large number of players who are contributing their scientific expertise or testing the use of hydrogen in different areas.
What is being tested?
In recent years, a number of exciting projects have been launched in the capital region to test the integration of hydrogen as an energy carrier into the energy system.
Hydrogen projects for energy storage and distribution
In E.DIS's Ketzin energy coiled laboratory, an existing biogas plant is linked to a PV system, a small wind turbine, battery storage, combined heat and power unit and a power-to-gas system for the production of green hydrogen, i.e. hydrogen produced from 100% renewable energy. E.DIS works together with GASAG, among others, which can feed the green hydrogen produced into its existing gas network.
In December 2019, the go-ahead is given for the reference power plant Lausitz. In the Schwarze Pumpe industrial park, a project consortium wants to realize a hydrogen-based storage power plant in several phases. The aim is to use renewable energies to produce green hydrogen and to develop practical processes for the conversion of electricity back into electricity. The project is being funded by the federal government as a "real laboratory for the energy turnaround".
In the HyCAVmobil project, EWE AG and its project partner, the DLR Institute of Networked Energy Systems, are testing the storage of 100% pure hydrogen in underground salt caverns at the Rüdersdorf site near Berlin - a pioneering European project. Natural gas is already being stored in other underground caverns at the site. February 2021 marks the start of construction for the test cavern, which has a capacity of 65,000 cubic meters and can hold around six tons of hydrogen. After a construction period of around one year, the first filling with hydrogen is scheduled for spring 2022.
Hydrogen projects in mobility
An example of the use of hydrogen for mobility is the heather track of the Niederbarnimer Eisenbahn-AG, which is powered by a fuel cell and can replace conventional diesel railcars on the non-electrified track. This will enable low-emission operation of the reactivated trunk line between Berlin and the Schorfheide. At the end of 2019, it was also announced that Deutsche Eisenbahn Service AG (DESAG) will also test hydrogen-powered rail traffic in Prignitz.
The use of hydrogen in shipping traffic is also being tested. In the project ELEKTRA of the BEHALA and TU Berlin an emission-free boat powered by a fuel cell was developed, which is being tested in the region Berlin-Brandenburg and between Berlin and Hamburg.
What's the big deal?
Even though the subject of hydrogen has only recently attracted a great deal of attention again, there are players in the capital region who have been producing and using green hydrogen for a long time.
Several years ago, ENERTRAG AG and its partners built a hybrid power plant in Prenzlau, which generates green hydrogen from excess wind power by electrolysis. Two adjacent combined heat and power plants can be operated with a mixture of hydrogen and biogas.
Uniper SE has already built a plant for the production of green hydrogen from wind power in 2013. In 2018, this was extended by a methanisation plant in Falkenhagen as part of the international research project STORE&GO.
The Chair of Power Plant Technology at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, in turn, has been researching since 2017 within the framework of a project funded by the federal government to optimise the electrolysis process in order to make the production of green hydrogen more efficient and cheaper.
The H2BER project, launched in 2015, aimed to develop and test operating strategies for a hydrogen filling station at BER Airport. For this purpose, green hydrogen is produced which, in addition to fuelling hydrogen vehicles, is also used to fire a combined heat and power unit (CHP), where it is converted into heat and electricity.
Contact persons in the capital region
For further information, we have compiled an overview of contact persons in the capital region and beyond.
Funding and financing
Funding programs and competitions are being initiated with increasing frequency by the EU, the federal government or the states to facilitate and stimulate investment in hydrogen technology. Current calls for proposals can always be found under News on the cluster homepage. Long-term programs and general tips can be found on the Funding & Financing subpage.
When it comes to innovative projects, the Cluster Energy Technology Berlin-Brandenburg is the focal point of all the important players within the energy sector of Berlin-Brandenburg. The Cluster offers guidance in the search for relevant contact persons, funding and subsidy opportunities.
SMART4ALL is a funding programm that fosters transfer knowledge and technology between academia and industry. It targets Customised Low-Energy Computing (CLEC) for Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Support
We will help you find the right contact persons in Berlin and Brandenburg; a higher concentration of scientific institutions and research institutes can be found nowhere else in Germany.