Status: 06/12/2022 1:45 p.m
With the help of hydrogen, the energy transition should succeed more quickly. Many regions want to jump on the bandwagon – especially in coal regions. But are the expectations met? A look at the example of Brandenburg.
The federal government describes it as a “key element of the energy transition”. And even those who otherwise talk about hydrogen usually cannot do without the words hope, potential and future. The hydrogen debate is currently getting a boost from the Ukraine war and its consequences. Because hydrogen could be a further step towards greater independence from (Russian) gas.
But in order to sustainably convert the energy supply, “green” hydrogen is needed. This means that the electricity used to produce the hydrogen in the electrolysis process must be CO2-neutral, only then is the hydrogen also “green”. However, most of the hydrogen is still being produced with the help of natural gas, coal or nuclear energy.
Pioneering work in the Uckermark
Jörg Müller was one of the people who already had the “miracle gas” on his radar ten years ago. He drives through the flat countryside of Brandenburg in a hydrogen car. The world’s first hybrid power plant from his company Enertrag, which produces hydrogen from excess wind power, has been in the Uckermark since 2011.
The power plant can temporarily store excess electricity and release it later when it is needed again. A dense hydrogen filling station network is also to be created with Enertrag in the region. Jörg Müller is a pioneer when it comes to hydrogen, and many others want to follow suit.
New power plant for Lusatia
In southern Brandenburg, the coal-dominated Lausitz energy region is to become a hydrogen region. A new hydrogen power plant is to be built by 2025 very close to the Black Pump open-cast lignite mine. A 50 million euro project.
The first reference plant is to be around 2000 square meters in size. “We can imagine building ten to 50 such power plants, which will then also be significantly larger,” says Michael Raschemann, Managing Director of Energiequelle GmbH. Further hydrogen power plants could be up to 4000 square meters in size. This can be done in the next ten years.
Lignite opencast mining in Lusatia – the region’s dependence on fossil energy is still high.
Image: dpa
Since 2019, Lusatia has been one of nine “HyStarter regions” in Germany, which is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport in the development of a hydrogen concept and the formation of a network of actors. Lusatia’s declared goal is to remain an energy region in the future.
Cottbus wants hydrogen buses
Public transport in and around Cottbus is also to be operated with hydrogen in the future. The first hydrogen filling station is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2022. By then, the first two hydrogen buses should have been put into service by the “Cottbusverkehr” transport company. By 2026, nine hydrogen buses will be running in Cottbus and the region. “The goal is very clear that one day we will be driving entirely with hydrogen,” says Ralf Thalmann, Managing Director of Cottbusverkehr.
There are many smaller pilot projects like this one. In mid-May, for example, the first emission-free canal push boat “Elektra” was inaugurated in Berlin. It took two years to build on. Long-term testing of the energy-efficient and emission-free transport of goods is now beginning.
In order to bundle projects like these and strengthen synergies, the economic administrations of Berlin and Brandenburg are now financing an online platform that is intended to bring together as many hydrogen producers and consumers as possible. “Our marketplace is like a mixture of partner exchange and eBay classified ads,” explains Oliver Arnhold, Managing Director of Localiser RLI GmbH, which is implementing the project.
expertise and young talent
Young scientists are also to be trained in Brandenburg. The Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) has founded the “Trustworthy Hydrogen” graduate school together with the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). Here, young academics are to be trained in the development and establishment of hydrogen.
The graduate college, which is unique in its kind in Germany, is intended to enable future managers in industry, research and the public sector to actively help shape the development and expansion of the hydrogen economy in Germany.