News Details
Huge success for hydrogen research in northern Germany - four real-world laboratories awarded contracts by Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
“North German real-world laboratory”, “Integrierte WärmeWende Wilhelmsburg”, “GreenMeOH” and “ReWest 100” - these are the names of the North German winners of the competition held by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy called “Real-world laboratories of the energy transition” 2019. In mid-July, Federal Minister Peter Altmaier awarded them their contracts.
North German real-world laboratory seeks to advance sector coupling
North Germany is setting the course for the next phase of the energy transition: With the “North German real-world laboratory”, an energy transition alliance has formed under the coordination of HAW Hamburg that aims to save large amounts of carbon dioxide through consistent sector coupling with hydrogen applications. It is to be based on the already functioning solutions of the large-scale NEW 4.0 - Norddeutsche EnergieWende (energy transition) project, which will run until the end of 2020. The planned projects could help save approx. 560,000 t of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
Project “Integrierte WärmeWende Wilhelmsburg” (integrated heat transition)
Hamburg Energie shows that a reliable and affordable heat supply based on renewable energy sources is actually possible. Heat, electricity and mobility are efficiently combined in the rapidly growing district of Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg. Geothermal energy is extracted from a depth of around 3,500 metres using a geothermal plant and is then fed into a nearby local heating network. Excess heat is to be temporarily stored in a near-surface, water-conducting strata of rock during in the summer months.
“GreenMeOH” project: Green methanol
In order to achieve the climate targets, carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced in many areas. In addition to the transport sector, carbon dioxide is also produced in many industrial processes and power plants. The partners in the “GreenMeOH” real-world laboratory in Stade near Hamburg, headed by DOW Chemical, want to decarbonise the industrial power plant process and use the carbon dioxide thus produced. They intend to filter out the carbon dioxide from the exhaust gases of a gas-fired power plant operated by the chemical company DOW and convert it into methanol by adding hydrogen. Hamburg University of Technology is one of the consortium partners.
“ReWest100 - real-world laboratory West Coast 100”
The “model region Heide” is being built on the west coast. Here, under the auspices of the Heide refinery, small-scale tests are being carried out to determine what the industrial society should be able to achieve in the future on a nationwide basis: a nearly climate-neutral production of energy and goods. The project partners want to use a 30-megawatt electrolyser to convert electricity from wind into hydrogen. The gas can be routed and used as needed, e.g. for the production of carbon-neutral fuel.
About Astrid Dose
Talking, writing, organising – and having lots of fun! This is what my days at the EEHH Cluster look like. I’ve been responsible for public relations and marketing for the Hamburg industry network since 2011. I studied History and English and have a soft spot for technical issues.
